Everlasting Turnabout
by Elchikaah Haly
Summary: Vampire AU fic. What led an individual named Apollo Justice to become a lawyer, a vampire hunter and finally a hunted?
1. Prologue: Lost Soul

_Warning: this fic contains spoilers for all games, mainly for AA4 and AA5._

_This is yet another cheesy fan fiction idea that came out because of a silly dream. Half AU with the same Ace Attorney characters, and this time, Japanifornia has been infested by vampires._

_I tried to enter most of equivalent events to fit with the in-game timeline. And a main difference from the canon is that Apollo and Trucy had lived together as siblings since forever._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Prologue: Lost Soul**

Date: ?, 2027(?)  
Place: ?

He gently opened his eyelids, the terrifying, bright light shining through the barred small window, blinding his sensitive eyes. Suffering from the horrific burning sensation caused by the light, he let out an excruciating moan, immediately covering his sight in pain with his shivering hands. When the relief finally came to his orbits, he directed them to the dull but virtually comfortable dark walls. The surfaces were dim and rather unpleasant, being infested with few crawling spiders and some other disgusting bugs. Sometimes, he could see a rat wandering on the floor, and from times to times, more of those execrable rodents came to him as if they were feeling pity for him. He wished he was able to shoo them away, but he could not. How annoying.

And the smell. Oh, the repulsive aroma! What fitted its best description? Maybe some mix of cat pee and animal poos. Let's add some dead worms under a humid air after a heavy rain and some humanly sweats from a man who hadn't had the possibility to clean themselves for weeks.

Wait, that last part probably came from himself. How sickening. How long had he been here, anyway?

He did his best shot to sit down, but his body lost his last willpower to move. After all, he just used his remaining efforts to cover his eyes with his palms. Such a pity, he wished he could at least watch his friend on the other side of the cell from whom he could, strangely, hear the tiny, repetitive up and down movements made by his agonizing breathing. He tried to call for his companion's attention, but no words were able to escape his lips, and it seemed his friend was trying in vain to do the same thing.

Oh yeah, that's right: his friend and he were stuck in this dark, remote cell, apparently in some abandoned prison, with no way to flee, nowhere to go.

Suddenly, his new senses were picking up a new smell approaching from outside the barred cell. It appeared someone was coming for them. Wait a minute, this couldn't be… The first thing he noticed was that he could _smell_ someone was coming close to them. Why couldn't he primarily hear the sounds of the steps they made? Why not some kind of feminine intuition (that girls like to use so much) that somebody was indeed approaching? No, he had to use his sense of smell first of all his five senses, and this fact alone repulsed him to no end.

What about his tummy? Oh goodness, he felt so hungry. Not hungry like when you walk, and, suddenly, your stomach starts growling, but more like a primal, survival hunger. He felt like he'd find anything alive and edible, and then he'll eat it like a vicious beast. Of course, it did not help that he had not eaten and drunken for maybe a week or so, he was not so sure anymore, and he wanted to curse himself whenever his nose kept picking new smells, mostly some putrid ones, but also some faint, wonderful ones that left his mouth hanging, watering with appetite.

He acknowledged at the very moment that his last remaining humanity was gradually fading away from his being, and he knew he was unable to stop this insanity from consuming his very soul. He was also aware his friend on the other side was suffering the same fate. The total despair was overshadowing his tiny faith for a particular reason: he, himself, was the sole cause of his friend's current agony, and he definitely did not deserve any pity from his companion or anyone else.

They were becoming no better than animals.

He wanted to cry, to unleash his emotion and to relieve his soul, but of course, he could not, because very soon, they'll both no longer be themselves: their very souls will be corrupted by instincts and madness.

He finally managed to turn his head toward the bars, but in his lying pose, unable to see the new one coming for them in question, he made no effort to guess who that person was, because he knew exactly who it was. Who wouldn't recognize the _smell_ of the young man who put them in here like two caged savage monsters? And, who knows, maybe he'll open the door and let them out, free like two cheerful wild beasts. But wait, he was dying and the lack of energy made his body lifeless like a heavy rock. Common sense knows that rocks can't move by themselves, basically preventing them from getting out happily from their cell.

The newcomer stood still, proudly watching his two captive young boys, but oddly enough, there was nothing but a serene, feebly worried look in his eyes. As expected, he took a key, unlocked the door and approached the dying brunette who was still faintly moaning with discomfort from the burning feeling earlier. The standing young man made no effort to close the door behind and he gently sat down. He carefully reached for the captive boy in his arms, cautiously landed his head on his cold, yet warm chest and started to delicately stroke the weak boy's hair, humming a strangely soothing lullaby. More rapidly, his will of life began to vanish from his soul.

This couldn't be! It couldn't end that way, such… a savage manner to be gone from this world, to become a degraded shell devoid of thoughts, ridden of his soul, of… of…

No! Keep trying! He frantically closed his eyes in an attempt to keep his humanity intact from the malfeasance he had fought against his whole life… Deep down, he dug into his mind, into his happiest memories, then… he found her back, a young girl beaming with life, friendly grinning at him, holding out her soft hands to him, begging for his wholehearted company, needing him to protect her like he always did ever since she was born… His little sister…

_My only family… She… She… needs to… join… me…_

_No, no, no… What am I thinking…?_

_Please… no… Not this… Not her…_

_I… promised…_

_B… But… Ye… Yes…_

_C-Come to me…_

"Struggling again, boy?"

The captive one attempted to ignore the extraordinarily sweet, melodic remark by his abductor as he was starting to be lost in a dream, an old, real memory. With the sweet lullaby soothing his ears, he could see himself back as a child.

He was crying, craving for his mom's comforting song because he was afraid of vampires since they recently killed his grandfather. His brave mom, courageously hiding the sadness that overtook her as much as her son, wrapped him in her arms and started to cradle the crying child. The boy finally calmed down and peacefully slept under the lullaby she was singing to him, feeling her every warm breaths like a breeze on his slumbering face.

How her soft, gentle voice was like appeasing music to his ears, and how wonderful this dream felt like.

And to his horror, the lullaby his captor was quietly humming was the same as his mother's, the very same she created only for him. Alas, he couldn't escape this sudden control that took over his body and mind, and drowsiness was getting weighty on his soul. As the darkness fell on him once again, he could hear the last words his captor was softly purring and he couldn't turn away from the light that was reflecting on his faintly visible, shining fangs.

"Good night, Apollo."


	2. The Gramaryes - Hunters Extraordinaire

_Let's go 13 years earlier, shall we? Also, thanks to anyone who reads this story, and thanks to chloemcg for the review (still can't PM you :( )! Also, I welcome critiques and stuff (I'm trying to get better in English!), so if you have any, please don't be shy!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 1: The Gramaryes - Hunters Extraordinaire**

Date: July 24th 2014, 8:52 PM  
Place: Sunshine Coliseum, Public Front Seats

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's acclaim the best of the magicians of our time, the Gramarye troupe!"

When thousands of people began clapping their hands in a harmonious chaos, the three stage magicians held their hands together, and then humbly bowed to the public, with flowers and confetti raining over them. The young caped woman in the middle of the two men snatched one of the beautiful bouquets and pulled it close to her, sending the people a charming smile which could melt all people, men and women alike. It was like an additional magic trick to the already spectacular show, an extra for their tickets.

Not far from the front stage, two kids were sitting among the large adults in the audience, a boy and a small girl, keeping their hands together. However, the boy didn't seem to enjoy the end of the show as much as the little girl or anyone else. He vainly tried to let the girl's hand go so he could cover his ears to drown all the noises around him. He detested loud noises and wished to yell at the top of his lungs to tell people to shut up: the show was not THAT spectacular anyway, at least to him.

Then he decided that abandoning the idea of wildly shouting at everyone was wiser idea. After all, he was told his voice was as legendarily loud as a devastating bomb, so much he loved to call his own loud voice his "Chords of Steel". This annoyed more than few people around, and he was totally aware (and proud) of the fact.

"Polly! Polly!" the little girl yelled innocently, trying to let herself heard from the older boy in this vast ocean of heavy sounds, pointing to the stage at the three magicians. "Mom, Dad, Unkie Vala! They great!"

The boy turned to the girl and amicably stroked her soft hair as a way to release his own stress on her, but he couldn't help but make a smile appear on his face. "Ha, ha!" the boy laughed as noisily as possible. "You know, Trucy, I'm starting to think you're forcing your enthusiasm! I mean, you and I've seen this show like over nine thousands times!"

The little girl, Trucy, looked straight in the boy's eyes, her eyes shining in curiosity, not sure what to think. "What's 'enthusiasm'?" she asked, but unfortunately, the question went completely deaf to the boy's ears and he continued as if she didn't say anything.

"All right, all right!" the boy exclaimed, his voice sounding a bit conquered by the innocence of the girl. "Our family is good on the stage!"

When the clapping and cheering sounds started to die out in the air at the same time adults left their seats, practically shadowing over the two kids, the little girl took this opportunity to repeat her question. This time, she will be heard, hopefully. "What's 'enthusiasm', Polly?"

The boy had a little need to face palm. How long will she keep calling him by that name? He curled over her and gently clutched on her shoulders, softly shaking her. "This is Apollo, not Polly! You should call your big brother by his real name!" the boy said with a small, exhausted tease in his voice.

Little Trucy was unable to contain her guiltless laughter. "Ah! So 'enthusiasm' is 'Apollo'! You're 'enthusiasm', Polly!"

Apollo let her go and lowered his shoulders in total defeat. "You know what? I give up…"

And it was probably for the best. Ever since his little sister Trucy could speak, her first word was not even something generic like "mom" or "dad", or even "mama" and "papa", but "Polly". At first, the big brother was flattered of her first word, but now, the name has been too impregnated on her, and even the rest of his family started to call him that way most of their time. He didn't really mind the nickname, but sometimes, he wished people would call him by his real name.

However, he was so proud to have such a bright little sister like Trucy. Not only she was so talkative, often a little too much for his taste, but her words were always clear and sharp. Additionally, Trucy loved her big brother Apollo so much that she refused to let him go whenever she held his hands. If someone, even their mother, would release him from her grasp, she would scream of blues for long hellish minutes.

She wanted to stay close to her big brother because, like everyone in this world, she knew what darkness lurked among the humanity, a darkness that craved for humans' flesh and blood. She knew the danger was stalking her family like none others, because the Gramarye troupe was not only a famous band of magicians…

… They were also skilled hunters, vampires' hunters.

And her Polly, along with anyone else in her family, could disappear from her life at any time. Better enjoy their time together while they could.

"Hey, Trucy, you're hungry?" Apollo asked.

"Huh-huh!" Trucy nodded, grabbing her stomach. "Tummy's empty!"

"Then we should join Mom and the others in the backstage!" he replied, still holding her hand as he led her on their way to their family's loge, where a wonderful dinner always awaited the current performers of the coliseum. Free food was always welcome, as they said.

When the two kids were heard running in this labyrinth of corridors, few childish laughers were heard escaping from the two, and soon, their dash became some kind of competition on who was the fastest runner. Of course, the male sibling had the advantage of being less clumsy and older. Unfortunately for him, he did not see a man pushing a food cart in front of him when he took a quick turn around a corner. In a loud, catastrophic collision, Apollo crashed into the cart and fell down along with the cart and the young man pushing it. Trucy, not too far behind, screamed at the clashing sound and she went straight to her brother who was crouched on the ground with a minor ache, though not painful enough to cause small tears in his eyes. The girl's attention was so focused on her brother that she didn't notice the older man who was still sitting stiffly on the ground, glaring at the two kids with angry eyes.

Apollo got up to look at Trucy with a smile to ease her mind, to not let her worry for such little things, but when he turned to the man, the latter one didn't seem to be as pleased as the two kids. Embarrassed, the boy scratched the back of his neck while still shyly staring at the older guy. "Huh, sir!" Apollo bashfully exclaimed to the other one with his powerful chords. "I-I'm sorry, I will help you clean the mess, I swear!"

At the very instant, Trucy's eyes went wide. Her fingers were nervously fiddling around her brother's forehead and when she pulled them closer to her, Apollo noticed a little trace of blood on them. Just by checking on the blood, his head suddenly hurt a little more. Maybe that was really the power of the mind playing tricks by worsening his little injuries. He cursed his own brain for making him feel a little more pain than necessary.

But the horror of the aching and the blood didn't really matter anymore when a heavy panting sound very, very close to them was heard louder as the seconds went by. Noticing the breathing came from the direction of the cart man, both kids turned their eyes on him, and the fear struck them like a lightning bolt.

The young man's mouth was wide open, his tongue was hanging down like a panting dog, and two visible fangs were revealing themselves in front of the kids. The dripping blood on Apollo's forehead was the only thing the man was glaring at.

Unable to move, Trucy's eyes were drowned into her own fearful tears. Her lips were trembling and few whimpers escaped from them. Apollo watched her, and the only thought he was able to make out at the moment was that it was the end. There were no other ones beside himself, his little sister and the vicious creature in front of them. He had no weapon of any sort and witnessing his sister in this current abysmal state made his mind wandering around hopelessly, a feeling of shame taking over him. Apollo was only a ten years old kid and his sister was even younger with her tiny three years, and which ten years old boy was able to fend off against a vampire that was twice his size to protect his sister? They'd need a miracle to get out of this mess alive.

The tiny girl couldn't hold it any longer, and she let out a shocked, frightened scream, which woke the instinct that had taken over the beast of darkness. He made a nearly graceful bounce like a wild feline on the boy in a piercing roar.

No, it won't end that way!

Apollo quickly gripped a butter knife that was scattered around and plunged it deep in the vampire's chest as the being sturdily landed on the top of him like a primal animal. Agonizing, the creature raggedly lifted his head up, shouting in pain with a mix of growls, trying to reach out for the knife struck deep in his flesh. This left enough time for Apollo to catch his sister's hand and run for their lives.

When they reached for another corner of the corridor, they finally stumbled upon their own miracle: another familiar young man dressed in a long yellow cape, with a gun ready in his gloved hands. The vampire ran after them, only to be welcomed by a resounding bang and a bullet straight in the forehead, leaving a trail of smaller pieces of flesh behind the creature. Both of the kids hung onto their savior, and soon, one of the two, then the other, were melting in fear and tears in the cape of the young man.

At last, the young boy was the first to speak in a weak and dazed voice. "T-thank you… Uncle Valant…"

Soon enough, the calamity and chaotic mess attracted more witnesses to the gruesome and miserable scene, and the rest of the Gramaryes appeared before the horrid spectacle. The young magician woman, Thalassa, fell on her knee to welcome her two children in her arms and started crying with them. She was so close to lose her two treasures to some dark spawn of hell, but heavens had been merciful on them in the end. When it was his turn, the other taller male magician, Zak, embraced the two kids, but especially his own daughter Trucy, his dearest precious to him.

Their rescuer, Valant, let out a visible frown on his perplexed face. Being a family of a famed troupe of magician, as well as a famous and skilled firm of hunters, was too much risky when it involved two innocent kids, but he was glad both of the them made out of this mess alive and well.

They were a happy little family, after all, and they hoped nothing will break them apart, ever.

* * *

The existence of vampires had been known since forever as the creatures of darkness were living among humans and preying upon them. It was only recently that their presence had been made widely known around the world, with the new discoveries for information exchanges. When Internet came to this public world, everything was finally clear, and the vampire menace was real.

Because, let's face it, it was impossible to get rid of them all, and solutions had to be found to contain the danger of their existence. Scientists had thought of a hypothetical virus that could infect them all, but unfortunately there were risks that would affect humans and other species too. There was no denying that humans and vampires were pretty much alike genetically, so much it was nearly impossible to tell them apart by sight alone unless you unleashed the beast within them: a good, fresh blood sample around them would reveal their true nature. Sure, they had those long, pointy fangs and those awful growling sounds, but it was easy for a vampire to keep their mouth shut, just like a human.

All around the world, governments were trying to find a solution to stop this evidently dangerous menace, and to prevent more causality, many countries had adopted a night curfew. Regrettably, humans were dumb creatures and many of them simply ignored the laws when they still enjoyed their night lives. Who didn't like a night life from times to times?

In countries such as our dearest Japanifornia, the very existence of these dark creatures was starting to become some sort of lucrative thing ever since the government allowed hunting sessions to reduce their population, in order to protect the humanity's safety. Hunters were beginning to appear from many places around the country, and to encourage the hunt further, two types of hunters were created: the public hunters and the private hunters.

The difference between them was quite simple. The public hunters were those who had a quota to respect when bringing bodies of their kills. A quota of one hundred four per year was asked, basically two per weeks, and they were paid a nice salary each year, exempt of the awful taxes no one liked to deal with. If a public hunter were to not meet their killing quota, their salary would drop down and they'd have a penalty on their license, stupidly like a simple driving license penalty. But if they filled their quota and added more extra to it, each extra would make them gain much greater money.

The private hunters were mostly those who used their hunting jobs as a side job. They only needed a license and they only get paid for each kill, but still, each earned them quite a lot of money.

Basically, a public hunter had their job as their primarily salary while a private hunter, like the Gramarye family, used theirs as an extra gain of pay. Both needed a license to hunt and necessary materials, such as guns, pistols and bladed weapons. Normal people without a license can hunt vampires as well, but without a license, the government will not pay them.

With a license, you can create a firm and boss around few hunters within it and of course, each of its members needs a license. And if they were to be public hunters, the quota was applied on each hunter and not on each firm.

Net guns were an extra as it made the hunt sessions easier. A hunter will capture a prey then check if the prey was really a vampire or just a poor human soul wandering at night.

Thanks to this, the hunts were greatly encouraged, but disappearing hunters were not that uncommon because of the dangerous situations they got into, causing a sort of controversy about the whole hunting idea. Also, you'd have to be careful since there were hunters that have killed innocent humans, thinking they were creatures of the night. This recently happened to a famous hunter firm that was also a law firm, the Grossberg Hunt Office. Their most skilled hunter, Robert Hammond, had killed a human accidentally, and not only Robert got to lose his license permanently, but he got to serve a long sentence in prison. And because of his guilty act, the boss of the firm he worked in will permanently lose his license to create another firm and the place will shut down. It was fortunate that he still had his law office.

"That sounds too bad for Mr. Grossberg!" Apollo said with a yawn, a sleeping Trucy tucked in his arms. Somehow, he felt sleepy as well. "I mean, it was not even the boss's fault if one of his students made a mistake! And besides, why do I have to learn all of this?" Listening to all the "political" side of the vampire hunting was all but boring to the mind of a little kid.

Zak smiled at the boy as he closed his projector connected to his laptop. "Well, kid, that's something you'll need to know if you want to be a hunter like us!" the great man let him know.

The boy let out a wide mocking grin. "Yeah, yeah, I know!" the kid responded. "But, you know, Zak, you shouldn't have used a cheap _pptx_ file for this! We're in 2014! Make it awesome!"

Upon hearing what the kid just said, it was impossible for the man to keep his mouth sealed when a huge laugher escaped his lips. The sound he made was so loud it woke the little girl up. "C'mon, little Polly, I know you're better than me in computing, but I'm a magician and a hunter, not I'm a graphic artist, for god's sake!"

"Zaaaak!" Apollo called out, awkwardly. "You woke Trucy up!"

The small girl's eyes wandered around for few seconds before she slowly shut them again with a comfy yawn. After lightly dropping off the laptop on the table, the man used his strong arms to quietly cuddle the sleepy daughter of his. When she drowned back into her world of sweet dreams, he smoothly put her back on the couch. Like an excited boy, Apollo jumped to reach out for the laptop and tried to play with it. Unfortunately, a password was needed to log back to the system. The boy sulked.

"Ha, ha! I might not be a mighty computing man, but I can use the parental controls and users' passwords!" Zak laughed hard again, mocking the poor boy.

"Hey, how unfair!" Apollo cried out to him, the wide grin still stuck on his face as a response to Zak's teasing. "That's my mom's laptop anyway! You shouldn't use parental controls when you're not even my parent!"

To reply the child, the tall man wildly stroked the two pointy antennas on his soft brown hair, destroying his hair gel masterpiece which made him so proud of. Zak felt a little sorry for the kid, but at least he didn't take any offense from Apollo's comment about the parent part. He knew the boy was aware that he was not his real father; not to mention how Apollo still appreciated the man like an uncle.

Feeling pity for the kid, Zak typed the password to log back into the system, and Apollo was pleased to no end as the operating system loaded with few comforting purr noises, though a little bit on the slow side. "Mom needs to buy another laptop…" he thought.

A surprise awaited his curious eyes when an old photograph with four happy young adults holding each other's shoulders popped out in the background of the system interface. He smiled when he recognized three of them in the picture: his mother, Thalassa Gramarye, his stepfather Zak Gramarye, also known by his real name of Shadi Enigmar, and lastly, Uncle Valant Gramarye (though this guy refused to let everyone know his real name, but it didn't really matter). Behind them, he noticed the Sunshine Coliseum where his family performed often. The date stamp on the photo indicated 2003/06/16, about seven months before he was born.

He thought this was a funny picture because how Uncle Zak and Uncle Valant looked like, so young and yet so similar like they were right now despite their weird hair styles, but his mom didn't change much despite looking much younger.

However, there was another young man in the picture, directly placed between his mother and Zak. He was unable to recognize him, but, somehow, he still looked familiar. Apollo was curious as he couldn't keep his eyes away from the unknown man who appeared younger than all the others.

"Hey Zak, who's that guy over here?" Apollo asked, pointing at the mysterious one.

Immediately after the boy finished his sentence, he felt a familiar, bothersome sense coming to him. He eyed his golden bracelet as it tightened around his left wrist. A much tensed Zak didn't seem pleased to speak about it, and now the kid's curiosity grew even broader about that enigmatic man on the picture. Zak knew about tense sensation Apollo was feeling and left a long sigh, being aware it will be hard to hide anything from the kid.

"Ah…" the older man exhaled, his eyes squinting at him. "Apollo, that's your father, Eros Justice."

However, much to Zak's relief, Apollo didn't seem shaken by the revelation. He was probably used to the idea of not having a father anymore since his mother already told him few times how his late father was so heroic. Apparently, he died while saving him and his mother from a vampire when Apollo was only ten months old. No wonder the young man looked so familiar to the boy! "Zak, can you tell me more about him?"

A smile appeared on the man's face. "You should go ask your mom. I mean, she knew much more about him than I did!" Zak exclaimed, not really wanting to remind himself of the past.

Apollo nodded silently at him in agreement before he returned his attention to the laptop, enjoying a fun time playing some Flash games. Few minutes had passed since and he fell into a quick slumber, and, just like a normal, innocent kid, he forgot about what he wanted to ask his mom as soon as he woke up the next day. A new, exciting day awaited him, like every new day!

* * *

Date: April 10th 2015, 5:04 PM  
Place: The Gramarye Residence, Living Room

"Mom! Mom! There's a circus in town!"

"Woah there, Apollo, calm down!"

Apollo threw off his schoolbag on the floor and called Trucy who had been watching a cartoon show on the TV. Her attention was now turned to her older brother. "Trucy! There's a circus!"

The little girl's smile went wide when she heard the word "circus". She wildly started jumping all around the living room while holding Apollo's hands and the boy laughed along with her. Trying to calm down the two kids, Thalassa put up her strict air and started speaking louder, trying to cover her son's "chords of steel" (as he loves to called them) and her daughter's shrieks. "Apollo Justice! Trucy Enigmar! Calm down!" she rigorously ordered out loud again, this time putting an odd emphasis on their proper surnames.

After hearing their last names, both kids went into an awkward, silent mode. Whenever their mother used their last names when calling them, this meant serious trouble for them. However, to their relief, Thalassa simply shushed them and bent herself to her son's level. "All right, Apollo, now that you calmed down, tell me what I need to know," the mother did everything to sound strict, and to her luck, this worked like a charm.

The boy started with a low, cautious voice, but as he spoke, his chords of steel were gradually coming back to him. "Well, there's that new circus in town, and I heard there will be awesome animals and performers, and all my pals at school are going to see it! We should go too!"

Thalassa left out a soft chuckle. It seemed her son was so used to her magic shows that he needed something else for a change, something like a traveling circus. At least her daughter was a different story since no matter how many times she'd see their shows, it was always like a new performance every time.

But this time, the mother simply agreed with her son. "Ok, let's go see the circus!" she finally said.

With the answer, both kids screamed of joy and hugged their mother tightly. After all, they didn't get to do many things with their family since they were always so busy with their shows and their hunt sessions, and now they were going to see a circus together. Apollo couldn't ask more than that, and he never felt so happy to have such an awesome mom.

Nevertheless, the woman slightly directed her head to the side, still looking at her son with a sad, faint smile. "But let's go see this tomorrow, shall we?" she continued. "I'm going to have a hunt session with Uncle Valant and Zak tonight, but tomorrow I'll let them know that I promised you and Trucy we'll go see the circus! Just be patient for another night, all right? Besides, tomorrow is Saturday so it will be a much better day to see the circus!"

There was a slight disappointment in the eyes of both kids, especially Apollo, but within all these past years, both of them had learned to be patient children when adults had grownup businesses to attend. The brother and sister nodded happily and promised to wait for them without showing any sign of impatience. After packing with their equipment, the three Gramarye adults waved their hands at the kids when they reached the exit door, but Thalassa insisted to come back and gently kissed her children on their forehead. That was her funny tradition to do this before every hunt sessions because the mother childishly liked to call this her own "lucky charm". Not that the kids or the other two older men minded the silly act.

As usual, the rest of the afternoon and the evening went like any other normal days. Apollo made the dinner for everyone, though Trucy insisted on helping him regardless of her young age, so to please her, the boy gave her easy tasks like sweeping the kitchen and the dinner room. To mark this exciting day, since tomorrow they'll go see the circus with the family, he really wanted to make the best meal he could think off.

He noticed tons of raw chicken wings in the fridge. It must have been Valant who bought them; he loved buying a large amount of food when there was a bargain on them. Well, it seemed he was settled for some chicken wings with some rice and a nice, healthy salad. He carefully mixed the wings with some fish sauce, salt and pepper and left those marinating inside the spices, then he'll simply fried them. He loved that recipe and he knew everyone else did. Such a simple food and yet so good!

After two hours of great sibling team work, everything was ready on the table and, as always, the brother and sister began eating their food with ferocious appetite before the three adults will come back.

Since tomorrow was Saturday, Apollo was glad he will not have to attend school, meaning he could have a late night sleepover with his sister who was still too young to go to school. In those kinds of nights, they would spend hours playing little games together, like a gaming console or some board games.

But this night, they'd rather speak of the circus they were promised to see.

"Polly!" Trucy called. "You haf gone to circus before?"

"Nan, never, but I heard there are a lot of animals doing tricks and people performing acrobatic feats."

"That sounds like magic, like Mom and Dad and Unkie Valant!"

"Kind of, but I think the circus will be more spectacular. I mean, the people and the animals use their own physical talents, not like magicians who use illusions!"

"Awwww, but magic is magic, Polly!"

* * *

Date: April 11th 2015, 3:35 AM  
Place: The Gramarye Residence, Apollo's room

A faint sob from another room woke him up. Frustrated, he growled a little and he tried to go back to sleep, but his action was vain as his sister's crying sounds incessantly continued. In the middle of the night, the adults should have come back and sleep, and Trucy as well.

Having nothing else to do since he was unable to return to his sweet slumber anyway, he took the decision to stand up and slowly walked to his bedroom exit. The surprise struck him when he realized Trucy's cries did not come from her own room, but from the dining room. Maybe she was hungry, or maybe eating fatty foods like fried chicken wings before sleeping was not such a good idea. There was an Internet rumor that said doing so would give people nightmare, but he thought that was one of those online fake idiocies since he never made any nightmares because of that before.

When he reached the dining room, he found Trucy, her eyes watering in sadness, looking at all the cold food saved for the adults, still sitting on the table and waiting for their guests to come and devour them.

Something fishy was in the air, and maybe that was why Trucy was crying.

"Truce," Apollo calmly called, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Why are you crying?"

Trucy turned to her big brother and tried to stop her ceaseless sobs, but she was unable to do so. "M-Mommy, Daddy, Unkie V-V-Valant… they're not back…" she wept, anxiously wiping her tears.

Well, that certainly explained why the food was still intact on the table, but he was not worried: it was not the first time the adults came back later than usual. He patted on her back and did his best to show a smile. "Aww, don't worry," the boy reassured. "I'm sure Mom and everyone else are just a little late. We should go back to sleep. Mom will welcome us in the morning with a kiss and we'll go see the circus!"

In turn, the girl tried her best grin too. "O-Okay, the circus will be so much fun!"

The hours went by, the morning came, but no one came to wake them up, especially not with a kiss.

* * *

Date: April 17th 2015, 10:49 AM  
Place: The Gramarye Residence, Living Room

It had been one week.

One entire week, and still no sign of the three Gramaryes.

There was not a single day that went by without hearing Trucy's sobs and the telephone's irritating ringing. Last Sunday, Apollo didn't have the choice to call the police when he heard no news from his mother and the two others. He did his everything to not show his tears for Trucy so he kept the light beaming inside home. He wanted to express how strong her big brother was, but whenever she was sleeping or weeping alone in a room, he'd go to his room and let the emotion taking over his mind and the tears streaming like a waterfall.

A scruffy looking detective named Dick Gumshoe had been assigned to keep a look on them while a search warrant had been made to find the three adults. Despite not being very good with kids, the detective seemed to have gained their friendly affection with his peculiar, sympathetic and innocent way of life.

Even if Apollo felt pity for the policeman who could have enjoyed his job more by doing a real detective work instead of having to keep an eye on two young children, he was so glad to have the presence of such kindhearted man around home, even if he sometimes had weird and random comments about… everything. The Gummy man (like his sister loved to call him) appeared to enjoy making the kids smile.

Watching the two sad children smile was like an extra to his own meager paycheck (oh, how he loved to speak of his low salary!).

However, today, the man appeared different. After the phone call he just had with his police teammates, Apollo could see it: Mr. Gumshoe's eyes went empty with a hint of concern and sorrow.

"Sir, w-what's the m-matter?" Apollo asked, his trembling lips having trouble forming his words.

Detective Gumshoe seemed to have been awakened from a nightmare upon hearing Apollo's loud voice, but he didn't really want to look at the boy and he did his best to avoid a direct glare to his eyes. After leaving a long, desperate sigh while looking at the ceiling, not eyeing anything particularly, the scruffy man finally replied. "I'm sorry, Apollo and Trucy… I-I don't know how to tell you this, b-but…"

"They are dead, aren't they?"

Astounded, the detective took all his courage to finally turn his eyes toward the boy who had just interrupted him. The young eyes were brightly piercing in agony, his teeth were gritting in pain, and soon weeps came out from his chords.

"I- sniff… I e-expected this to happen…" Apollo revealed with few sniffles.

Coming out from her room, Trucy heard the news, and she ran to soak her tears in her brother's chest, unable to contain her excessive crying.

The news later publicized how the Gramaryes, hunters and magicians extraordinaire, were no more. Shadi Enigmar, known by the stage name of Zak Gramarye, was found dead in a nearby abandoned town, apparently devoured by more than one vampire as the body was found with multiple bite marks. It was assumed the same fate had fallen upon his wife Thalassa and his friend Valant as traces of their blood were found around the body of Zak, but their bodies were never recovered or even found. Searches were still on-going for their bodies, but there was little hope.

In the end, their mother could never hold her promise to see the circus.


	3. Outside at Night

_Changed the summary of the story because I realized it had a major AA4 spoiler (and I guess many readers in this site are AA5 players who aren't aware of the major AA4 spoiler)._

_This chapter is kinda depressing, but it will end on a much happier note with another familiar character._

_I might add that the chicken wings recipe mentioned in the previous chapter is actually a real recipe and is very delicious. I must also thank my friend Lique for the name pun of my evil attorney in this chapter._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 2: Outside at Night**

Date: April 18th 2015, 9:31 AM  
Place: Malone Law Office, Main Office

"And that's why the entire Gramarye legacy will be inherited by me!"

The boy just had enough. The notary attorney in front of them, apparently named Davon Malone, was just playing mind tricks on them to exhaust the children more than necessary. According to the papers, he was the one who took care of the inheritance issue for the Gramarye family, but this cursed attorney was keeping everything for himself. Apollo didn't believe him the slightness, but the man shoved them all the papers signed by the three magicians which gave everything to the attorney, including their grand residence. The young teen was astonished: he knew the evidences never lied, but evidences could be lies too.

Enraged, Apollo shouted at the man of law. "How can we affirm these documents weren't falsified?"

Mr. Malone went silent a moment before a burst of laughter escaped his mouth. "Really, kiddo, what do you know about the law?" the man blurted out like a madman. "Can you confirm these were falsified? I can assure you these are authentic!"

Then Apollo suddenly felt it, his bracelet tightening around his wrist and at the same time, he saw it: the faint twitch of the man's right eye just when he mentioned his words. Not only Mr. Malone was a revolting attorney, but he was a big, fat liar. However, the boy was so exhausted about everything. His mother disappeared from this world with his two uncles and Trucy lost her two parents. Even at his young age, he had no choice but to try and act like an adult in these desperate times, having to deal with paper works and calls from everywhere, even those businesses offering funeral services at the best deals. As if he needed to be bothered about death right now.

He almost felt fortunate that he was sharing his grief with his little sister, telling himself he shall never be alone in this, but it was so ironic how he wished this never happened to her, the poor child.

Of course, he had no way, right now, to prove that the documents shown by Mr. Malone were false, and he knew there was no hope to win against the man. Who'd believe a young boy who could tell lies with his piercing stare and his piece of jewelry, from simply scrutinizing body tensions from liars?

At least he got to keep the keepsake of his mother, the only remaining object of his old family: his cherished bracelet.

The Gramarye legacy was no more, and their two heirs had fallen to the deepest misery level with no home and nowhere to go.

Since they had no known relative alive, the police had to intervene for them again. The law gave them away to a foster home like a charity gift. Although they weren't really a pleasant gifts people like to receive during Christmas or any religious holiday. Rather, they were more like an obligation from the foster parents who did everything to look happy to welcome the two new kids in their home. It was just as the dramatic media liked to depict foster parents from foster homes: they just wanted their pension funds for taking in poor orphans and poor abandoned children. The more bastards they kept, the more money they gained, as long as the kids stayed under their roof.

One step at a time, Apollo and Trucy entered the new house they still refused to call home, the little sister keeping her older brother tight in her arms, her mouth shut, her eyes full of sorrow and shyness. The bigger boy kept an arm around her trembling shoulders, trying to gaze at their new _parents_ while letting his cool air do the rest. The first thing he noticed was how much the couple stank like smoke and some faint alcohol.

Evidently, the parents weren't alone. Few other kids were around, curiosity taking over them to check who were the newest additions in this lot of bastards. The oldest one, probably a teen around fifteen or sixteen, left a kind of grumpy grunt upon seeing them, giving them a glare with a raised eyebrow as if they were his revelations, an answer to the unknown question he was asking himself since forever.

"Man, aren't you the kids of those lame Gramarye magicians?" the bigger teen spitted out before his "mother" violently slapped him on the cheek.

"Goddamnit, stop being a douche!" she yelled at the teen. "Don't you shut your trap sometimes, sonny?"

The teen crossed his arms with a smile and a frown. "Heh, you're not even my mom, so stop ordering us around, bitch!"

The two newcomers hugged each other even tighter now. They felt trapped in this torment and they were afraid of what was going to happen with their lives.

They wanted to see their old family back.

* * *

Date: May 2nd 2015, 9:57 PM  
Place: Foster Home, Backyard

They said nights were dangerous in these dark times, but they didn't care for now. The air outside was much fresher and the sky was more spectacular from outside. To hell with the curfew!

Ever since they arrived by force in their new foster home, two weeks ago, Apollo did not attend school at all. Not that he hated being there, but rather, he did not trust anyone under this stinking roof and he refused to leave young Trucy alone with them. And the worst of it all, he noticed the odd tension from the oldest teen in there, Brad, whenever he was glaring at Trucy, always with a creepy manner. Brad couldn't be that type of guy, couldn't he? He really hoped so, but, under the roof of this rotten place, everything was possible.

The school called home many times to ask the reason for Apollo's absence, but the parents would always response with a generic reply such as "Oh, little Apollo's sick today!" or "Apollo hurts himself today!" Of course, none of these were true, but what could the boy do about it?

That night, both Apollo and Trucy were outside, enjoying their own meal: a delicious looking apple they stole from the fridge when no one was looking. The brother didn't mind if the parents saw him doing so as they were too busy smoking something weird anyway, so he also took the opportunity to take a kitchen knife along to cut the fruit. At least he was good using a knife, thanks to his late mother who taught him how to use them properly in case of vampire attacks. We could never be too sure like she used to tell him.

That day was the first time in two weeks since the siblings were honestly smiling when they finally got to enjoy a time eating a good food. As they say, eating is one of the greatest pleasures of life.S

When they finished their meal, Trucy hung tight onto her brother, yawning. "Polly, let's sleep outside," she murmured as she slowly closed her eyes.

However, Apollo looked back to the sky, watching as the bright moon disappeared behind a thick, dark cloud, and he began thinking about the dangers of the night. While attacks by the night creatures were not that common, they still fully exposed themselves to the danger by staying outside. Not that the foster home was a great place to sleep in either, but maybe it was better to return inside and at least stay alive for the time being. As long as there was life, there was hope!

Unfortunately, he felt dizzy as well. He wanted to get up and bring his sister back inside, but the darkness quickly came over his tired mind. Trucy and he endured so much in so little time; they'd definitely deserve this great sleep, even if they were to stay exposed under the dark sky.

As he leisurely drifted away in his own world, he flied around the city, the sun warming his cheeks, the wind flowing through his two pointy hair antennas, the ones he missed so much because he had no access to any hair gel where he lived now. Wait a minute. His two pointy hair antennas? The sun at night time? And how the heck could he fly? No human could fly like that!

How fun, so he was dreaming, and even after being aware of his sleeping condition, he was still stuck inside this happy, imaginary world! How convenient, he never felt so pleased to be slumbering: that way, he will escape his hell for a little while!

Behind him, he could see Trucy enjoying her flight in the air and laughing with joy. She'd reach for the clouds, disappear in the mist for long, enjoyable seconds and come back to him as hastily as the wind, cheerfully shouting: "Mommy, Daddy and Unkie Valant are waiting for us on the clouds! Let's go see them together!" She held his hand and led the way up there. He, too, was so eager to see his family back.

His sister was right; the three of them were up there, all waiting for the two kids.

His mother was the first to approach them, and she gently gazed at her son with melancholic but shining eyes. A sweet lullaby began to leak out from her mild lips, a smile forming on the same luscious instant. Apollo's body shivered with delight as he tried to hold his tears. He went to fly into her arms.

Except he could never reach her.

Suddenly, his mother faded away in the air like dying flame, and then his two uncles followed her. Everything around him became thick dark like the abyss of hell, and the only thing he could hear was the piercing, horrified scream of his sister. He nervously turned around and witnessed a frightening scene as a shadow was engulfing his sister. Swift like the lightning, he stretched his hand toward her to grab her in an attempt to free her from the creature, but the shadow shoved his entire being banging into a tree, leaving him with a throbbing injury on his shoulder.

He finally came back to the reality, and what awaited him was even worse than his nightmare.

Brad was tightly holding little Trucy against him as he tried to undo her cloths. The panicking little girl did everything to get away, but the big teenager's arms were too strong for the poor child.

"Trucy!" Apollo vociferously yelled, terrified of what was going to happen to his sister if he were to stay still, and gathering all the courage he could, he wasted no time to hold himself back. He quickly bounced onto the bigger guy and bit him hard in the neck, so far as to reach him for his flesh. Brad let out a painful shriek and released Trucy from him. Apollo quickly dropped down on the ground and went after his sister, seizing the kitchen knife on the way and pointing it at the teenager in a faint agony. Adrenaline rushing through his veins, Apollo was panting like mad, a trail of blood was dripping from his mouth and his piercing eyes were glaring at the older guy. It was almost hypnotizing.

Right on the moment, the boy looked like a frightening creature of the night.

Surprisingly, there was a sudden, desperate burst coming out from a scared Brad who started yelping like a miserable dog, trying to cover himself with his arms. Curled into a small ball, the teen began to mutter unsteady, terrified words.

"Please… pleasepleaseplease… y-you guys got Mommy and Daddy already… don't… come near me…"

Apollo's thoughts were conflicted and verily confused at the moment. His humane morale was screaming how he should have sympathized for the guy, realizing that Brad and probably all the other brats in this foster home had their own stories to share and their own reasons to come live here with those perturbing "parents". But his own mind was telling him that Brad was nothing more than an absolute, disgusting child lover. There was a reason for everything, but nothing could approve his action toward his little sister.

Now, there was no way they will stay here any longer, not when this sickening teenager was still living among them.

The big brother turned to his crying sister and hugged her tight. He held her shoulders and dropped himself to her level. "Trucy, let's get out of here."

The little girl nodded and her brother led the way out, even dashing through the house with their foster parents on their path. Both kids ignored them when they called them and asked them where they were going. When they finally reached out of the entrance, they felt as if the air was lighter and the sky was shinier.

* * *

Certainly, the sudden, heavy rain didn't really help them in their run, and they had to find a place to hide, fast. The cold temperature made everything worse when Trucy started to cough along the way. Obviously, they currently had no access to any kind of medication and even less a good, warm home, but at least, they found something that might help them from the moment being: a children park. In the middle of it stood a big apple shaped slide. It was to their luck the slide had a sturdy roof above, and they decided to hide under it.

Trucy was still sick, but at least she was out from the rain reach, even though both were already soaked through and through. Of course, it was out of the question to try covering her with his own wet jacket as a wet cloth will make things worse, but at least he could cover her with his arms.

Soon enough, the rain started to die out, finally, and the place was clear enough to see the high panel close to the park entrance. Even in her weakened condition, the girl pointed at it and proudly read "Vitamin Square". Apollo chuckled at the words, and once again, he never felt so heart warmed at his little sister's intelligence. Not many children could read at the tender age of four.

For the time being, it was the best to stay in this slide, since there was a bright light not too far and they were able to see everything around, in case something suspicious lurked nearby.

Something felt itchy on Apollo's shoulder and he went to scratch it until he stupidly realized he completely forgot about the small injury he got earlier and the wound opened again. As soon as he felt the blood under his nails, he really, really hoped no vampire were around. There was no way he could have forgotten the story last year when the vampire attacked him and his sister in the coliseum. They might be smelling the blood escaping from his wound from everywhere!

Even in this innocent looking park.

Even here…

The growling sound, the heavy breathings, he heard them very well.

Finally, a lurid, hissing woman suddenly appeared at the slide entrance, and the two kids let out a terrified scream together. Agitated like a wild beast, the vampire tried to catch one of their legs, only to get a fierce kick in the face by the boy. Furiously, the woman roared at them, her mouth was so wide open they could clearly see the long, white fangs that hungered for more fresh blood.

In spite of the sudden life-threatening event, Apollo remembered the knife he stole from the foster home, and as soon as he reached for it, his felt his body moving on his own; the knife was leading the way for him.

Deep straight in the forehead of the vampire.

The creature abruptly went silent completely, her eyes still wide open by the surprise attack. Apollo let the small weapon smoothly slide off from the deep, sordid cut, the cold blood of the creature reaching his shivering hands. The vampire fell down in a soft sound on the sand, not ever moving again, to the two kids' relief.

Things couldn't get worse, couldn't they?

Alas, their relief didn't even last for a minute when two others spawns came after them, one from each side of the slide, and this time, they were even more aggressive, probably angered by the death of their vampire gal. Now, they'd need another miracle to survive.

Unfortunately, the Gramaryes were no more. Uncle Valant was not coming to save them again. His mother and Uncle Zak will not come back to hug them after.

_BANG!_

The one on Trucy's side fell.

_BANG!_

And now, the one on Apollo's side fell onto the already killed female vampire.

The miracle really happened in the end.

Unable to move from their spots, the two kids hugged each other even tighter, both shuddering with cold and terror. They heard few soft steps coming toward them, and the sound became louder as the second went by. Another one was approaching and the new, mysterious enigma finally exhibited himself to the kids.

Here stood a young, long-haired blond man with an impeccable pair of glasses and a very clean suit, a pistol ready in his hand, still smoking from the two earlier shots.

He was their new miraculous knight in shining armor.

The expression of the young man appeared so serene and kind, and the smile he revealed looked so sincere that somehow, Apollo knew he could trust him.

Seeing how silent the kids were, the tall, blond man began to speak, his angelic voice soothing both of them. "Hello, young children," he greeted them with a gentle expression. "Might I ask what are two children doing here in the middle of the night? Do you know the danger of wandering outside at this time? If I did not come here to find you, you'd become the next meal of these repulsive spawns of hell."

It was like the sunshine they needed in their lives right now. Apollo was so relieved and happy that his remaining family survived this mess once again, and he wanted to openly thank the man who just saved them. Yet, he was unable to form any word as he was still quivering with his crying sister in his arms. Noticing the tension from the two kids, he decided to smoothly hold out his hand to their direction.

"You have nothing to worry about me," the man reassuringly said. "Maybe your parents taught you to not speak with strangers, but I assure you that I'm no mere stranger, at least not anymore soon. Let me introduce myself."

"My name is Kristoph Gavin, and I'm a full-time hunter."

"Now that I've told you my full name, no more I'm a stranger, so let me hear yours."

Both Apollo and Trucy were staring straight into the young man's eyes, almost innocently, but after hearing him speak, trust was the only thing that came to them, and finally, both landed their hands on Mr. Gavin's. The boy forced a smile, but it was a genuine one.

"Hi, Mr. Gavin…" Apollo shyly started. "My name is… Apollo Justice and this is my little sister, Trucy Enigmar."

For a second, Mr. Gavin's orbit went wide by wonder before he shifted them back to their normal state. And for a split of moment, Trucy could have sworn the man directed his stare on her brother's golden bracelet. Well, that was understandable as the jewelry piece stood out quite a bit. The man softly bit his lips while questioning himself about the two. "Are you, perhaps, the children of the Gramaryes?" Mr. Gavin asked.

It was now Apollo's turn to widen his eyes in astonishment. "Yes sir, how did you know?" he loudly exclaimed.

Mr. Gavin let out a soft laugh. "You must be aware of your parents' popularity, aren't you? While their popularity doesn't speak of their heirs at all, the news were kind enough, or perhaps not so kind, to provide us the names of the two orphaned kids the legacy left behind. I find this kind of special that none of them even bear the name of Gramarye, and it's even more surprising they bear different last names. How unusual for two blood siblings!"

"Might I add, this place is no place for young children like you to stay at night. I must invite you to stay at my home for tonight!"

The siblings heavily breathed in amazement. Was their new savior really inviting them to his home? A warm, hot home? This seemed too amazing to be truth. Apollo shook his head in disbelief, trying to see if he was actually dreaming or not. "Ar… Are you sure, Mr. Gavin?" the boy blurted out timidly. "I m-mean... Sir, that would be too kind of-"

"No, no! I insist!" Mr. Gavin interrupted, his lips still curled up mildly. "How can I leave two young orphans all by themselves outside at night? The cold, the rain, the beasts of the night, I think you've endured enough, and you deserve better. Don't you agree?"

Soon enough, a river of joyful tears streamed down from the boy's eyes as he hugged his sick sister who had started to fall asleep. A sick one needed their sleep, after all. "T-Thank you, Mr. Gavin!"

The hunter led them to his quite expensive car, stationed not too far from the park. He opened the door for them so they could get comfortable in. Mr. Gavin told them he first needed to call the government authority to collect his primes (the killed vampires indeed!) so he'll get paid for his hunts. Of course, Mr. Gavin was a hunter too! Apollo still had a hard time gathering how this clean, polite man was actually a professional hunter. The inside of the vehicle was as clean as the man who owned it, and the boy pretty much felt bad to have added some dirt and filth on the comfortable and sweet smelling bench.

As he watched Trucy slumbering against him, he, too, felt his mind slowly shutting down for a good night sleep.

* * *

Date: May 3rd 2015, 9:05 AM  
Place: ?

A mixture of laughter and coughs woke him up from his torpor. He turned his head around, the brightness of the place blinding his tired eyes but also warming his cheek. He searched for the origin of the sounds that popped him out from his dream world and a relief took over him when he noticed on the side, his little sister playing with… a big golden dog?

Wait a minute, where were they, exactly? This room looked so strange and unfamiliar, yet so charming and comfy. On the wall, he could see a digital clock showing the date and time. And there was a delicious smell in the air that felt like bacon and pancakes. The two siblings were sitting on a big couch, a cover sitting on them with a golden retriever happily licking Trucy's head for some affection.

What about the rest of the room? A huge 3D TV stood not too far in front of them and next to this living room was the dining room, where he finally found out the origin of the delicious smell: there were really pancakes and bacon pieces ready on the table, which seemed to await the two kids.

Before he let the hunger took over, his attention was drawn to a handwritten letter on the small table before them with two large T-shirts on the side. He took it and read it, with Trucy behind trying to read along with her brother. However, very soon, she abandoned the idea of trying to comprehend what was written on it.

"_Dear Apollo Justice and Trucy Enigmar,_

_Welcome to my luxurious apartment. I'm hoping you are enjoying your time here; this is the best I can offer you for now._

_Since you were wet from the heavy rain, I offer you these two shirts so you can cloth yourself. Unfortunately I do not have any cloth for your stature, but I hope these will do._

_If you need to take a shower, you can use the bathroom. No offense, but I think you definitely need one._

_Since I'm a full time hunter, I sleep when daylight comes, so chances are that I'm sleeping right now in my room when you'll read this letter, so please do not come disturb me. I also prepared in advance an appealing breakfast, so don't worry if it might be a little cold. There's a microwave in the kitchen, so use it if you need to. There are also some leftovers in the fridge for your dinner and supper._

_Don't worry about my golden retriever, Vongole. I assure you she won't bite you or your food. She loves children and she will probably enjoy your company._

_Please, suit yourselves at home, except disturbing me, of course. We'll continue our discussion on the evening._

_Kristoph Gavin_"

When Apollo finished reading the formal, yet heartwarming letter, Trucy was already exploring the rest of the apartment with Vongole. She then reached for the only closed door of the place, which Apollo immediately guessed as the room of Mr. Gavin.

"Trucy, no!" he tried to whisper loud enough for her to hear, trying to not use his proud chords of steel to wake the man up, but it was too late. She turned the door handle.

To their luck, the room was locked, and Trucy crossed her arm with a frown. "Aww, I want to see what's inside!" she murmured sadly, but then few coughs escaped her mouth.

Like a contagious tic, Apollo suddenly felt the need to cough as well. It seemed he was getting sick as well. He grabbed the two shirts and came after his sister. He took her hand and led her to the bathroom. It was true there was some kind of uncomfortable stench in the air, and to his dismay, the boy knew it came from their own selves when he sniffed his arm. "All right, Truce, I think we really need a bath…"

And at the moment, Apollo had never been so grateful about life after what they just went through.

Trucy was fine, and he was fine!

* * *

When Mr. Gavin opened the door, it was about 6:00 PM. The two children were sitting quietly on the couch in the living room, their being cleaning from dirt and with their huge shirts on them, enjoying a cartoon on TV. They did not hear the man as their attention was still intensely focused on the show. Vongole was peacefully sleeping by their sides. The hunter let a soft chuckle spurted out while looking at them. The siblings seemed to have settled nicely in his home and they definitely looked much chirpier than before.

The young man appeared before them, calling them on his way which attracted their attention. "Mr. Gavin!" the kids called in unison, their face showing the radiance of gladness.

"Hello, Justice. Hello, Enigmar."

Trucy immediately cringed at the name. "My name is Trucy!" she yelled, a bit offended, and then ended everything with a short cough.

Apollo tried to shush her, but Mr. Gavin didn't really mind as he let out a little laugh after the boy started his coughing session along with his sister. "All right, Trucy," the man continued, not a bit shaken by the girl overreaction. "Do you both enjoy being here?"

Hearing the question, Apollo really wanted to scream of joy, to be saved by such kind hearted man, even though they were completed strangers to him. He got a hold of himself and simply replied: "Yes, Mr. Gavin! Thank you for your kindness!"

Gavin crossed his arms at the answer, squinting serenely at the boy. "And now might I remind you that I need to discuss with both of you, because I've got many questions for you."

The boy gulped at the comment. He never really liked being questioned because he never felt prepared to answer them, but he sensed that maybe Mr. Gavin will go soft on him since he seemed to be the soft type, even for a hunter. He had to remind himself that his mother was quite a soft woman as well, and she was still a hunter.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Mr. Gavin started with his permanent, angelic face. "Tell me, why are you not living with a foster family? I would have imagined the police found you a new family."

Lost in his deep thoughts, Apollo placed a finger on his forehead. It took him a while to find the best answer, but he decided to go with the truth. Mr. Gavin deserved to know everything as their rescuer, after all.

"Some evil attorney stole the legacy of our family, so we lost our home and everything. The police found us a new foster home, but the new parents didn't care about us and there was an older, mean guy who wanted to… huh… touch private parts on my sister, but I saved her and we fled the foster home together. That's when we were attacked and you saved us. Thank you, sir!"

"No need to thank," Mr. Gavin kindly added. "It should be a common sense to save people from trouble, especially from vampires. Now, don't you have other relatives around somewhere?"

"Not that I know," Apollo added, albeit a little wistfully. "I know Uncle Zak and Uncle Valant had no family, and my Mom's dad died when Trucy was still a baby. And well… Mom's no more… and I have no dad, I was told he died when I was a baby too."

"That's unfortunate. And you spoke about an evil attorney who stole your legacy. Can you tell me more about him?"

At the mention of the question, Apollo shut his fists in frustration. He was almost growling in resentment but he went back into more sickling choking sessions. Clearly, the boy detested that man of law. "I remember him; he has an evil name. His name is Davon Malone!"

Once again, this didn't seem like a surprise to the young man. There was a sarcastic smile appearing on his lips at the declaration of the name. "Ah, Davon Malone," Mr. Gavin expressed. "I know few people of the law, and Malone is one of them. Not a good name, I might add."

"Why do you need his name?" the boy asked with a perplexed expression.

"Oh, nothing important. I'll speak about the man to my other friends. They really love to hear gossips about him."

Mr. Gavin took a short break before he continued his questioning. He took a deep breath before the next question. "So you two are basically homeless orphans, am I right?"

Apollo only nodded. I didn't feel like answering that question as he didn't really like to be labelled as a homeless kid.

"I see," Mr. Gavin replied, but slowly, he directed his calm stare above with a seemingly determination visible in his eyes. "However, Justice, I saw you in the park when you defended your little sister with all your might. You have the potential to be a remarkable hunter, just like your family. You have a fast reaction; somehow this is what's lacking from many hunters. I understand if my next question will not prompt an immediate answer, and I take no offense to that."

"So, Apollo Justice, do you wish to join my hunter firm?"

Just like a lightning that struck him, Apollo's full spine shivered of shock. He entered into another coughing mode before he swallowed a large amount of air to attempt stopping his barks. It seemed to work, but still no direct answers came to him.

"But, sir! How can someone like me possibly help you in a hunting session?" the boy declared, a bit uncomfortable. "I mean, my mom taught me a bit, but only for self-defense! I can learn, but it'll take a while!"

Mr. Gavin's smile curled up further. That was actually the kind of answer he was hoping for. If the boy had responded with something about himself "being too young" or "being too afraid", he'd consider his own offer. This answer meant that Apollo was a courageous boy willing to help him, and that was enough. After all, he did protect his sister from the bigger dangers.

"I can teach you all I know about the job," Mr. Gavin revealed. "Even if it takes all the time you need, I know you can do it."

Unsure what to think, Apollo turned to his sister who didn't really pay attention to all the questioning. To her, their discussion sounded too complicated for her childish mind, but she could see the confusion in her brother's eyes, and she simply hugged him to calm him down. That was her solution to the grownups' problems, and it always worked like charm. Most of the time, at least.

But that was exactly what Apollo needed, and he smiled at her, giving her a short hug back.

He was going to need more hunting skills to protect her, and helping Mr. Gavin seemed to be the best way to get better.

The boy turned back to Mr. Gavin who still patiently waited a response which will satisfy his need. "Yes sir, I accept!" Apollo finally replied, enthusiastically.

With that, the man gently stroked the hair of the two kids, which Apollo innocently tried to shoo the hand away from his head. "Then this settles everything," Mr. Gavin declared, all pleased. "Justice, Trucy, I welcome you to my firm and my home, your new home."

The silence suddenly reigned in the room for few seconds before a short whimper then another awkward cough broke the peace. Both kids were losing themselves to their blissful emotions before they went to squeeze the adult man between their arms, not ever stopping to thank him for his goodwill and everything. How was it possible to meet such an angel on Earth? Of course, they had just met one, they do exist!

As the siblings kept hugging the man, a small, faint sneer escaped from his mouth. Now that the boy and the girl were part of his "family", he'd definitely be able to use their little Gramarye power for his own use and profit. He'll just have to teach them how to use their perceiving skills to properly distinguish those horrible creatures of the night from the humanity.


	4. The Psychology of Vampires

_You thought Kristoph was a saint? Well, maybe, maybe not! Also, Chapter 2 was supposed to be much longer, but it was getting too long so I just put the rest of chapter 2 parts in chapter 3. Meaning Chapter 3 is shorter than 1 and 2. Have fun with more familiar characters!_

_I admit, the first part of this chapter is totally uninspired._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 3: The Psychology of Vampires**

Date: May 6th 2015, 1:23 PM  
Place: Cosmos Space Center, Robotic Laboratory

"Simon! You came as promised!" a little girl yelled as she ran toward a young man to hug him.

The other one laughed at the girl's enthusiasm. "Hey there, Cykes-dono!" he called, almost choking when the girl squeezed him a bit too tightly. "I wouldn't miss a day without seeing you!"

After the little girl released her man, he slowly stood up and turned his head on the side to see two older women who greeted him, though one of them had her usual, mocking face toward him.

"There, there, Simon," the purple haired woman gently spatted out with a small grin. "You shouldn't be lying to poor Athena about missing a day! I mean, you hadn't come here since a full week!"

The little girl, Athena, decided to go along with the one she'd call her aunt. "Auntie Aura is right, Simon!" Athena spilled out with a slight frown. "I missed you! And Mommy missed you too!"

The other, more serene woman gently lowered her hand on the little girl's mouth, faking her strict air. "Athena," the woman started, trying to hide her smirk. "You shouldn't speak for people when you're not even sure of what they are thinking! Who told you I missed him?"

Little Athena let out a quiet "Aww Mom!"

At the same time, the young man politely bowed to the woman who seemed to be Athena's mother. "It's always a pleasure to meet you, Metis," Simon humbly greeted.

The other woman, Aura, started to laugh in a scornful manner. "C'mon, little brother!" she started. "Why can't you be as humble with your older sister? I'm your elder too, after all!"

Simon smiled at his sister's comment. "Well, Aura, unless you wanted to be called Blackquill-dono…" he said.

But behind this charming façade of a fun meeting between two women, a girl and a male teenager came the duty of a young senior high school student named Simon Blackquill. He came for his weekly meeting with the scientist named Metis Cykes, a genius psychologist and a talented pharmacologist. The young man came to know the woman and her daughter, Athena Cykes, thanks to the professional relation his older sister, Aura Blackquill, a prodigy engineer in programing and robotic, had with Metis, as both women worked together so they could use their different talents to conceive perfect robotized machines. One of their most interesting researches was called, in a charming way, PONCO, which stood for Psychological Observation and Navigation Companion. The future robot will serve as a friend to any human beings it will meet, as well as an infinite encyclopedia and guide for the Space Center.

In addition to be a human's companion, it will be able to feel the emotion of human beings from their heartbeat and recognize their face.

Metis had to thank her own daughter for this last PONCO feature idea. In fact, the little girl was born with a kind of talent unlike many other children: Athena could feel the emotions from others around her by their heartbeat with her fine, special hearing sense.

Unfortunately for the little girl, her life became harder and harder when she had to walk around crowds of people or even when she went to school. She was overwhelmed by tons of emotions emanating from all wandering around her which prevented her from having a decent social life. Metis was so dazed by the sorrow to see her daughter suffer, and she did everything, aside of her assigned researches, to make her daughter's life as comfortable as possible. One way of doing so was to create some kind of huge headphones that suppressed the surrounding emotions around her. Another genius invention was to create a small collar device that would help her to analyze other people's emotions, a device only her daughter could use.

That day like all other days, Simon did not come visit the Space Laboratory to visit Athena, but to have a meeting with Metis about using psychology in court, since he was studying to become a prosecutor. Awe by the work of the genius scientist, he knew he could make use of psychology when questioning witnesses and accused ones.

Much to Athena's chagrin, she watched the teenager and her mother entered together in another room before letting the door close itself behind them. The little girl gripped Aura's coat to win her attention, which worked. "Untie Aura, how long are Mom and Simon going to be inside?"

Aura giggled and wildly stroke the girl's hair which somehow annoyed Athena, though she took no offense from it. "Heh, don't worry about them," the engineer started. "They are speak about law and stuff, you know, adults subjects! Unless you want to listen to them discuss about grownup stuff for hours, I'd avoid their discussion, kid!"

"Well, that sounds pretty boring!" the girl frowned, leaving an impatient sigh at the end to show her dissatisfaction.

* * *

The Cosmos Space Center was renowned not only for being a tourist attraction, but it was also home to many scientists and engineers, usually the bests of the country, as well as having employed many famous astronauts and having successful space missions that would put other countries with space programs to shame. Space missions in that very space center were one of the biggest prides of this country's government, and because of this, a huge amount of public funds were being put in this very place for the most advanced technologies of its time.

Few employees who made it their home included Metis and Aura. Because of this, Athena found this place rather boring, knowing the whole center by heart. Not to mention she was never a fan of space and astronomy in general. She was unable to socialize with the people working in the center, but somehow, there was something different about that teenager, Simon, whom she got to know thanks to the partner of her mother. Maybe it was because he was an adept to psychology in general, thus being able to deal with a recluse little girl like herself.

What Athena liked from the young man was also the fact he kept having amusing conversations with her. Even when she couldn't find any conversation idea to start with him, he'd be the one to initiate a new, interesting subject to speak about, despite the girl being only a small child of six years old and the teenager being ten years older. Most adults would simply ignore the girl or speak to her as if she was a toddler, but Simon was definitely different from the others.

And that day was no exception. Even if Simon knew most of the public parts of the space center, he'd ask Athena to give him a guided tour around the place and all the information she was familiar with about each visited rooms. The girl loved to help people so much! If she wasn't such a shy girl, she'd be an interesting guide of the center.

Even though Athena did not like science very much, she still took pride of her mother's studies because she acknowledged that very few people in the world had as much knowledge as her, and Simon knew it. That day, he decided to initiate one of her most favorite subjects.

"Can I ask you a question, Cykes-dono?" Simon asked her, a smile appearing on his face.

"Of course!" she replied, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. "What's your question?"

Simon let out a small cough before he began with his question. He was expecting her answer to be a long one, after all. "So, tell me, can you tell me more about your mother's researches?"

"Yeah! Well, she has many researches, like artificial intelligence for our friends the robots, emotions in humans and emotions in vampires too! Why are you asking? I mean, I told you many times already!" she finished her sentence with a chuckle.

They were answers he expected, but he wished to make her talk a little more since she seemed to enjoy it. "Oh, I simply forgot!" Simon revealed with a laugh. "Please tell me more about her researches on the psychology of vampires."

With this, Athena took a deep breath before she started speaking again. "Well, Mom says that vampires have the same emotions as us humans, but there's one big difference: the vampires have no heartbeat so I can't feel their emotion, but they still have tensions and stuff like that! Like, if you use those things we put on our head to check our brain activity, we'd still see things moving!"

Simon carefully listened to every words of her. Vampires were always considered evil creatures that were only known to feed on humans and animals' fresh blood; a stigma of this world. But it was seen a controversy to consider that vampires had feelings just like humans, as if there were good and bad vampires wandering around this Earth.

Athena continued. "Not all vampires feed on human! Since humans and vampires are so alike, some vampires only feed on animal! Mom says that when someone is turned into a vampire, they can't turn back being human, but if they don't want to be all evil and savage like a wild hungry animal, they need to start getting fed right at the start by drinking animal blood and never be hungry! Because hunger is what causes them to be evil!"

The interest in the young man grew even more as she spoke. According to this girl, there were really good vampires. Then why did people only meet the evil ones? "So, Cykes-dono, if I were to turn into a vampire, if I don't want to succumb to the bloody instinct of a hungry predator and hunt for humans, I'd have to keep eating animal fast after I'm bitten?"

"Yes! I'm glad you understand!"

"That's… very interesting, indeed."

"But most of new vampires don't know about this, so many become evil and hunt humans for blood! It's so sad for them! They can't control themselves, and they are lost forever, and hunters go after them to kill them!"

The teenager couldn't help but notice the hint of sadness in her voice. It appeared that Athena was really compassionate for these creatures. She went on with more fascinating information. "Mom told me she once met a vampire who saved her, and that's how she decided to study vampires and their emotions! Because many of them are stuck by their instincts, she wanted to use her science talent to create a medication to control their hunger and stuff! That way, the vampires won't need to feed on blood and kill more people! And they will be able to live with people in peace!"

It was hard for Simon to imagine a world where both humans and vampires could live in peace since many individuals had a brutal story to share about vampire experiences: death of a family member or a friend by a vampire, someone in their neighbor died to a vampire, a popular celebrity fell under the fangs of vampires, etc. Things were even worse when an acquaintance of theirs become one of these creatures.

But what this bright, little girl appeared to explain was that people shouldn't judge others because they belonged to a species of the sort.

In the end, it was no different than within the human world. You could find an extremist group who wanted to make their ideals spread around the world by any radical means, then people would start blaming the whole nation of a country or region where the extremist group was born, because humans loved to blame an entire nation.

And because of that, maybe humans were no better than any of the so-called "creatures of the night".

Even so, each species had to protect their kinds since it was a part of the natural world, and Simon was also training himself to become a successful hunter one day since he was quite skilled with the sword and pistols. He also had his wish into becoming a successful prosecutor, with the analytic psychology as his own extra weapon. However, Metis's researches changed his way of thinking about the vampires, and he recognized he had to only hunt the "evil" ones, those who posed a problem to humans' safety.

One of the best ways for a hunter to find an evil vampire was to use a sample of flesh blood, usually their own for safety, so they'd attract them with their strong sense of smell. However, a talent like Athena's would surely come in handy if they were to hunt for vampires as she'd knew, right off the bat, that one individual was a vampire, no matter how hard they'd try to hide it. As mentioned, vampires have no heartbeat, and how they were still "alive" without a heartbeat was still a mystery. The only answer to this, according to Athena, was that "vampires are magic!"

In a way, vampires were really magical, in a mysterious way.

* * *

Date: May 9th 2015, 7:42 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Kitchen

Apollo didn't really mind making dinner all the time, even during school days to which he finally got to return thanks to the kindness of Mr. Gavin for their new, steady lives. After all, his little family had been given a home, clothes and food for free. Trucy had now a new, furry friend which she could play with when he went to school, leaving her, somehow, alone at home (not really counting Gavin because he was a deep sleeper during daytime).

What bothered him was that Mr. Gavin himself never tried to eat a single meal he took so much effort to make. However, the hunter had mentioned something about not having time to eat and having an eating disorder. Instead, the young man pretended that he had to eat in a specific and special place where they served food for people having his own eating disorder which was open every days and every hours. Apollo thought something seemed fishy about this, but his genetic perceiving skill and his bracelet never picked up anything suspicious about his sayings, so what Mr. Gavin said must had been true.

That was not the sole thing which made him doubt the man. The boy knew that being a hunter full-time probably forced him to slumber all daytime. Yet, he noticed the man always locked his bedroom door when doing so, not to mention about his curtains that were certainly very, very dark and thick and hid the sunlight pretty well, so well it was almost the total darkness. Once again, Mr. Gavin simply answered that his eyes were sensitive to light because he had been so used to a night life. And aside, many night workers had to use that type of curtains to have their good day sleep, like any usual day workers.

Once again, he could not perceive any lies.

Sometimes, there were so many doubts about the man he joked to himself that Mr. Gavin had everything to be a vampire. But of course, how was that possible? If he was one, he would probably have eaten both him and Trucy since the beginning. Also, why would a vampire hunt other vampires? No species would hunt their own kinds!

Well, human beings were an exception to the rule, of course.

One day, out of the blue, he remembered Mr. Gavin had noticed how Apollo kept checking his golden bracelet with an odd manner. Curiously, the man decided to speak about it.

"_Is this bracelet yours, Justice?" the man asked, gentle as always._

_The boy fiddled with his jewel piece at the mention of it. He blushed since he seemed to have taken pride of it. "Yes sir, it's mine!" Apollo answered, excited to speak about it. "Well, actually, it's my mother's, but since she had two of them, she gave one to me! She was going to give the other one to Trucy when she will be older, but… well now the other one is lost with my Mom…" He appeared to be a little more comfortable when speaking about his late family now; he didn't even flinch at citing his mother._

"_Ha, ha! Are you telling me this is a bracelet for girls?" Mr. Gavin teased._

"_Hey! No, of course not!" Apollo protested. "Nevertheless, the boy calmed down a bit after. "Well, now that you mention it, it's kinda girly, but, there's a reason why I keep it!"_

"_Really? By all means, please enlighten me!"_

"_Isn't that obvious? That's my mother's memento!"_

_Apollo's answer only led to few moments of complete silence, without counting all the TV noises of the cartoon Trucy was watching all alone. Mr. Gavin didn't appear convinced about the reply, and he looked like waiting for another answer, a real one._

"_Is something the matter, Mr. Gavin?" the boy asked, perplexed._

"_Justice, I feel there's more to it than being a simple memento," Gavin declared._

"_Ah yes," Apollo gave up. Mr. Gavin had been too kind with him and his sister, and the man deserved to get a real answer. "Actually, you might find it hard to believe, but this bracelet helps me with a talent my late grandfather, my mother, my sister and I all have!"_

_To Mr. Gavin's eyes, it sounded as if speaking about the power he had was like getting a heavy secret off the chest, and the boy somehow appeared to feel great about it. He pursued his explanation._

"_When people lie or have something to hide, they usually feel tense, and I can feel their tension with my bracelet. It also helps me to find their nervous tic if they speak to me and lie about something. Even if it's a very small tic, I can still see it, because, well, I have a very good sight!"_

_Mr. Gavin appeared thoughtful about it. In reality, he was already aware of the Gramarye power that flowed through their veins, but he wanted to hear about it from their own mouth, to see if their explanation fitted with that he had been told._

"_Your power and your eyesight are genetic talents, am I right?" the man asked._

"_Yeah!" the boy exclaimed blissfully. "My Mom once told me our eyesight was much better than normal people's eyesight, like, huh, how can I say this… Like we can see moving objects very clearly when we focus!"_

_Suddenly, a frown appeared on the boy's face once he returned his attention to his bracelet. "But it's uncomfortable sometimes!" he revealed. "I mean, since I can feel the slightest tension from others, I become tense along with them, so I get weird feelings when I focus on too much people, so I try to ignore them! It's all better after!"_

_A soft giggle escaped the man's lips. The boy's innocence was so obvious this made him feel pity for the kid. The way he spoke about their power made it look like it was okay to be different from everyone when you had special powers, even if using it too much could be a bother._

Apollo still remembered of their discussion like yesterday. He enjoyed so much speaking with Mr. Gavin. He always wisely listened to him and, to make things even better, he perceived no tension, no lies from his rescuer.

And that was why he would never gave any doubt on the man, not anymore. Mr. Gavin was an angel, one who had saved him and his little sister, fed them, clothed them.

Today was a Saturday, and with no school day upcoming tomorrow, Mr. Gavin promised to bring him to his hunting session today. The hunter knew that, with his powers, he will be able to find vampires much easily than a usual hunter. He knew that when a vampire will see a hunter with hunting equipment, they'd feel tense, and he will feel their tension too. That was so convenient for him and Mr. Gavin.

He couldn't wait to go and hunt for more spawns of hell! He'll get revenge for his mother and two uncles!


	5. Another Tragic Fate

_Things are getting happier in these dark times. You will also find a joke about global warming, but don't take it seriously. Also thanks to the new followers (and old ones too of course!) for following this story! :) I promise to finish this story one day! But I'm so sorry for making chapters so long! :/_

_Enter Klavier and Clay in this chapter!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 4: Another Tragic Fate**

Date: September 9th 2016, 7:23 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Living Room

It had been more than a year since the arrival of the two Gramarye children in the Gavin's residence, and it felt like they had been living under the kind man's home forever. Life had never been so boring, which was, in a way, like a dream come true; a dream of a peaceful, dull world, where evil had been vanquished, and only the good remained. Actually, maybe not. There were still vampires around. Hunting sessions had never been more lucrative and money was entering fast in the Gavin Hunting Firm.

In addition to having an extra (although very young) hunter called Apollo Justice in the firm, sometimes another (young) extra decided to tag along, and the new one was none other than Mr. Gavin little brother, Klavier Gavin, a boy who was about two years older than Apollo and who still lived with his parents. He'd come to visit his big brother Kristoph during some weekends and vacations periods. There had never been so much confusing moments under their roof since Apollo had been so used to call older people by their last names, and by having the presence of two individuals with the last name of Gavin, he simply decided to call the little brother by his first name. That'd be much simpler.

In the end, Apollo was glad to have a new male friend of his own generation in his life outside school, though a bit on the sardonic side. In fact, Klavier had given him the nickname of "Herr Forehead" because of his famous two hair antennas in which he, each day, applied sturdy hair gel to give them that unique look which he was so proud of. It gave away a clear view of his apparently huge forehead. Thanks to Klavier's manner of speech, he was able to remind himself that his "mentor" had a German origin: that'd explain their bright blue eyes and their clear blond hair. How stereotypical!

On the other hand, he found it oddly mysterious that none of the brothers had a German accent, not even a little.

Klavier was a boy of many talents, and it sometimes made Apollo envious, though more like he admired his talent rather than grudging against him. In fact, Klavier not only have a good singing voice, even better than his older brother, but he could play the guitar very well. This didn't end here. Even though he dreamed of having his own musical band with his school pals and making tours around the world, he was skilled with the law in general and was already studying on the side to become a prosecutor, at the tender age of fourteen! And, finally, he was a skilled hunter!

At least he pretended that his last talent was thanks to his older brother's efforts. It started as a self-defense mechanism taught by Kristoph, but as the time went by, Klavier insisted to assist him in his hunting sessions.

Of course, their parents didn't know about this.

Mr. Gavin did not mind having the two kids at the same time coming with him. However, he had to keep reminding them that they must not speak about their hunting activities to anyone outside their circle of little family since both boys did not even reach the minimum age to start hunting. Instead, their kills were credited as Mr. Gavin's kills to make sure he got paid for them all. Of course, all the money the young man gained was also Apollo's since they lived together. Klavier was not bothered by not gaining any money from it. To him, those hunting sessions were mere playgrounds for him and a part of his dream of bringing justice in this world.

Sometimes, Apollo wondered if Klavier was some kind of broken character from an action game in which the player used some kind of cheating device to make him invincible with all maximum stats. Because the guy was good in everything.

Except in cooking. But that didn't matter much when his big brother didn't eat any of his food.

School had started recently last month, and this became a new world to Trucy who, luckily, had no problem with hanging around other children in her first preschool class. Because of this grand new event for the little family and because his little brother was visiting him on this wonderful Friday evening, Mr. Gavin decided to not have a hunting session and instead, wished to have a kind of "family" moment, all together. Apollo and Trucy loved those fun days where everyone get to hang around doing nothing dangerous.

Now and then, they were having a small fight on who was going to choose the channel they'll watch on TV, and no one agreed on which one. To settle everything once for all, Apollo and Klavier decided to have a battle of wits with their famous Rock, Paper and Scissors game. Deep in her heart, Trucy really wished Mr. Gavin will not win this round because the man always favored news and documentary channels, and those bored her to tears. At least Apollo had a preference for cartoons, but more of those actions packed ones, and Klavier always went with the famous violent series with real people in. Those TV shows scared her somehow, but the stories were still at least _much_ more enjoyable than real life news.

It was during times like these that Trucy wished the perceiving skills she and her brother had could at least make one of them win games such as this one. Alas, that game was based on pure luck alone. Extraordinarily, the oldest man always won that game.

Today was no exception.

All the younger ones let their arms fall down like a sinking, heavy, unstoppable rock as Mr. Gavin smirked at the kids with a strange satisfaction and took possession of the TV remote. Trucy almost insisted to steal Apollo's smartphone so she could find something else to watch on it, but her brother had finally managed to input a secret pin code so she couldn't use it anymore. The little girl sulked deeply, and she went even deeper in the couch, crossing her arms furiously.

So the news channel was stuck in front of everyone's stares. Klavier looked a bit interested, but what the news offered that day did not attract much of his attention. Apollo had his head pressed against his hands as if he was falling asleep, so did Trucy. Of course, Mr. Gavin was the only one who fully absorbed every bits of information that came out from the TV speakers.

Apollo seemed to pay no heed at all to the anchorman speaking. With such a dull and monotone voice, how could adults actually enjoy watching them? To him, there were mere men or women reading a printed text while moving their lips, with some boring sounds escaping their lips.

Until a name was caught by his ears.

Malone.

Suddenly, all his attention went to the talking anchorman, then to the picture that appeared beside him.

It was really… that accursed lawyer.

Davon Malone, the notary attorney who stole the Gramarye legacy from them. His family legacy.

From what he could make out, the man had apparently been devoured by a vampire last night.

There was a side of him that screamed good riddance. The society didn't need any more of a malevolent man who could only think of their own person, and the creatures of the night got rid of small garbage among humanity. At least they could be useful for it. However, a part of his mind still felt bad for the loss of a human being, because, let's face it; Mr. Malone was still a part of his own species, even if he was a rotten man to the core.

And, weirdly enough, he could have sworn he perceived a diabolical chuckle from Mr. Gavin. It was no wonder as the young man even told him a few times how he hated that man of law.

Now that the anchor man had won over the boy's attention, the next story attracted a bit more of his consideration in his eyes. This time, the journalist revealed how a newbie lawyer, precisely a defense attorney and part-time hunter named Phoenix Wright managed to prove the innocence of his friend, Maya Fey. She had been accused of the murder of his mentor, Mia Fey, whom was also the sister of the accused. All of that happened when all evidences pointed at her as the murderer. The lawyer not only succeeded to prove her innocence when all hope had left them, but he miraculously managed to find the actual murderer, a certain Redd White, a name apparently linked to a lot of famous people of the upper class.

Redd White of the Bluecorp Company, a powerful man no one dared to battle against.

Normally, that kind of news would simply pass through the boy's ear then get out from the other side without having retained any of these information, but this time, Apollo was left speechless at the accomplishment of a newbie. If some new guy in the profession managed to do something veterans could not even think of doing, then maybe anyone could too if they really tried hard enough. That man, Phoenix Wright, wasn't it? His eyes appeared to be hunting for the truth, to protect the innocents, to save people from false accusation.

He recognized that he was a passionate man.

Suddenly, he knew what he wanted to do when he'll get older.

"I'm going to be a defense attorney!" Apollo suddenly shouted, his chords of steel seemingly prepared for this sudden burst of energy.

Just like that, out of the blue, in a childish way, the big news came out. Everyone turned to him, wordless, silent as a wall. Apollo shook his head, a bit apologetic for having given everyone something close to a heart attack, then turned around all who stared at him with much amazement, or maybe it was disbelief.

Klavier decided to break the silence. "You, Herr Forehead, want to be a defense attorney?" the blond haired boy asked, still dazed. "Do you actually know what it takes to be one?"

Apollo's eyes were wandering around, ostensibly thoughtful, not so sure of himself. "I… don't know…" the younger brunette answered. "I guess you need to know about… law and stuff?"

Lastly, Mr. Gavin left out a soft giggle before he decided to speak. "That was… quite the spectacle you've just offered, Justice," the man added. "Youngsters of your generation dream of being an astronaut, a policeman, a most famous hunter, a hero of some sort. The idea of seeing you as an attorney… surprises me."

"Wait, wait, wait guys!" Apollo exclaimed. "This attorney guy, Phoenix Wright, is a hero too! He saved a girl from false accusation! And besides, I still like being a hunter and I'll stay a hunter forever! I just… want something else on the side… Well, just like Klavier!"

"Like me?" the older kid responded, calmly. "I'm flattered you see me that high, but I thought you were not fan of the law since your little adventure with that Herr Malone, ja?"

The younger boy, a little exasperated at them, decided to use his chords of steel to make himself appear more sincere of his sudden choice of life. "Hey, c'mon! I'm dead serious!" he protested. When he finally got everyone's grim attention, he calmed down. "All right, hear me out?"

Deep in his thoughts, like a wise sage, he took a long breath, almost closing his eyes. Mr. Gavin carefully observed his little protégé and noticed the passion in the eyes of the little one as he stared at his bracelet. It was almost as if he was cherishing the treasure left by his mother. The man finally understood the kid's choice.

"You know, I was always wondering if I could use my power to help out other people in need. I know that I can use it to find vampires lurking around in the dark and all, but I want to make another use of this power. If only I could use it to find… the evil humans in a courtroom and their lies, they would be stuck in there, and they'll have to face the truth. I'll catch criminals with this, I'll find the truth and I'll save more people in need!"

"And if a man like Mr. Wright can find the truth like that without the need of genetic talents, then maybe I can do it better!"

The expectation was always more dull than what he wished for, because no one said a thing, until, unexpectedly, Trucy spoke out, nearly all forgotten in this grownup discussion. "But, Polly, law is boring!"

The boy raised an eyebrow at his little sister's simple comment. Somehow, there was a truth in her words, but that didn't change a thing in his decision. To that, the Gavin brothers began to laugh softly, almost teasing and agreeing with her words, but with it, they made a decision too.

"Well, Herr Forehead," Klavier started, patting his shoulders. "I'll help you if you need me."

Apollo turned his gaze to Klavier in disbelief. Was the one he considered a sort of rival really helping him?

"Don't forget about me, Justice." Mr. Gavin added. "It will be a pleasure to help my little protégé after all. I'll do everything within my powers to make sure you'll attend the most prestigious law school. Additionally, I know about the law too. Don't be afraid with your questions."

The brunette was dazed. He couldn't have met better people in the world than these two brothers. For a moment, he was almost glad that everything started in such tragic way, only to end up in this very comfortable residence, with a mentor and a rival willing to help such bastard children like him and his little sister.

He wanted to kiss everyone.

* * *

Date: September 30th 2016, 10:05 PM  
Place: People Park

This Friday night was probably going to be another of those hunting sessions with no primes around. It'd been around an entire week since Mr. Gavin did not have any kill. Maybe other hunters were being too effective in this month, or vampires decided to not run outside for blood lust with the colder season coming. And for some reason, the new season was even colder than usual. Sometimes, he wondered about the truth behind the so called global warming people kept speaking about. How on earth was the planet getting warmer when he was freezing?

Mr. Gavin trusted Apollo's skills enough to let him wander around alone for the hunt sessions, and today was the same story. Mr. Gavin would use Vongole's instincts to find a prey, and Apollo would use his own talent to find those tensed vampires. In their separate ways, that'd give them more chances to find a target to kill around the place.

He walked around for few minutes, his gun hidden in his pocket. The small cut he made on his arm to attract the creatures by their instincts was ready, always prepared for an eventual target. He lent his ears all around, carefully trying to make out every noises in this ocean of sounds in this park. Closer to him he'd hear some singing crickets, and farther he could distinguish some cars rolling like mad. As always, there were douche drivers everywhere.

Soon, he heard the park river close by. The sound of the current drowned most of the noises, but he could have sworn he heard someone crying nearby. When he slowly approached the sobs, he soon came to realize that the smell of blood was also getting more noticeable. He made sure he could easily reach his gun.

Hiding behind a bush, however, the display that awaited him made his heart tighten with sympathy.

A black haired boy with an odd, messy hair style had his arms around an inert woman on the soil, weeping incessantly as he leaned toward her even closer even though his face was already sinking into her.

There was a river of blood around the two of them, and the woman's eyes were empty, lifeless. Was the kid a vampire? Unlikely! Vampires couldn't cry, could they?

To make sure, Apollo let himself noticed by the boy with his gun set, pointing it at him and whispering loud enough to be heard. "You," the armed kid let out. "Look at me."

The crying boy let few more sobs escape before he turned his attention to the young hunter. However, the bloodied kid appeared to be, perhaps, too busy with his own tears and the woman he held dear to him to even be startled by the gun pointed at him. He didn't even try to avoid the weapon or make sense as he muttered few incoherent murmurs to himself, but Apollo was able to make out few words in this gibberish.

"Mom… Mooommy…"

But the hunter did not flinch. Instead, he kept his weapon ready to be fired at any time in case the other kid showed any sign of instincts. After all, vampire children existed... "Did you kill her?" Apollo asked, straight as an arrow.

"No…" the other one simply replied, using up all of his remaining efforts to attempt at having a decent conversation. "W-Why would I k-k-kill Mmmooom…"

A pause was made before the black haired boy continued. "V-Vampires… killed her…"

Despite all the emotion ranging around the boy, Apollo could not feel any tension of any sort, and never once did his bracelet reacted. Ultimately, he decided to believe him, but he still kept an eye around. If vampires had indeed killed the boy's mother, then they were probably still lurking nearby, unless Mr. Gavin and Vongole found them already, but he could never be too careful.

Trying hard to play the toughened hero, Apollo lowered his weapon and lent a hand to the other kid. "C'mon, we need to get out of here… They're probably still here…" he said, attempting to put his own emotions aside.

The young hunter gripped the boy's arm and pulled him higher. However, the kid didn't seem like he wanted to move from his spot as Apollo felt some resistance coming from him. "B-But Mom…"

"Come on!" the hunter insisted, now more concerned about the surrounding. "It's a sad thing to say, but we can't save your mother anymore… We need to-"

A sudden, growling nightmare leapt on the bloodied boy with a feasting hunger, causing the kid to scream in terror. Using his fast reflexes, Apollo focused intensely with his gun and directly pointed the weapon to the fast moving creature. It was about time he'd find a new prey! At the time, he had never been so glad to have the power of the Gramarye in his veins since he could easily discern the kid and the rabid vampire in the blur of the action. Then he shot, straight in the side of the creature's head.

As the evil being fell down like a lump on the filthy soil, a few moments of silence reigned in the park. For an instant, the crying kid almost had his eyes shining in admiration for the young hunter who just saved him from some kind of doomed fate. However, he soon went back to being the traumatized one and returned to his incessant sobs. Apollo let out a long, exasperate sigh after the adrenaline rush and he was now wondering how he'd proceed to calm down the other boy.

Yet, he knew this was going to be a very hard job as someone who also lost his family to these same brainless creatures.

There had been no time for Apollo to even think of words to tell the boy when an unexpected shadow threw him so powerfully in the air. There was a loud clang sound when the young hunter hit the ground on the concrete, his gun under him causing the metallic racket. He let out a cry of pain as he tried to get a clear view of the blurred surrounding, but the time went so fast around him he could not reach his gun that fell down along with him. He hopelessly watched as the creature that violently pushed him went straight at him.

Then, graciously, another shadow suddenly hurled the hungry creature away from Apollo, leaving him harmless from danger.

When his sight finally came back to him, he could clearly see a retriever dog, growling and holding tight the enraged vampire between her paws. As the night creature struggled hard to get away from the furry animal, a familiar being came, always calm as ever, adjusting his glasses and pointing the gun toward the vampire whose eyes opened wide in fear.

The smiling angel, yet again, released a loud bang in the cold, dark night.

Sometimes, Apollo wondered if he had some kind of invisible guardian angel constantly around him, alerting his underlings when he was in danger.

Both boys looked up to find the blond haired hunter along with his loyal furry companion who immediately went to rub her muzzle against the brunette kid for some consoling. The young hunter, smiling at the animal, promptly gave some amicable strokes against the canine's golden fur. "Vongole!" Apollo cried out, almost laughing.

The other boy looked at the young hunter. This kid left such an impression on him that he was captivated how he didn't look the least shaken by the recent event, even after virtually being the meal of another of those mindless humanoid creatures.

As Mr. Gavin slowly approached the two kids, his gentle gaze went to the black haired kid, compassion and a serene smile could be easily noticeable on the hunter who just saved him. He indeed looked like an angel for an instant.

"Hello, young boy," the young man murmured to the kid, his voice spoken like a messenger from the sky. "Don't worry about the vampires. I've scouted around the whole area and there are no more of them around hunting for blood."

Apollo excitedly snickered with the young man. "Mr. Gavin!" the kid called out. "We got two kills! This will be good for our pockets!"

Steadily as always, Mr. Gavin quietly squinted at his protégé in incredulity. "Indeed, but don't get too much excited. We need to help this boy first."

The second kid looked at the hunter trio, raising his eyebrows in amazement. After all the blood splatter and the near-death experience, all the two could think about was… money? There was no way these two were humans… Wait, maybe the man looked a bit more human than the other little guy, but…

The blond haired man returned his attention on the sobbing kid. "Come on, little one," Mr. Gavin continued. "I know it must be hard for you to lose your mother, but you need to get to safety fast."

Somehow, his voice was so soothing the boy relaxed down. There was such sincerity in his words that he felt completely safe around him. He weakly nodded to the man. Satisfied, Mr. Gavin turned to his pupil. "Justice, I need you to get this boy somewhere safe. Vongole will accompany you. You can take him home while I stay here and make the call."

Apollo obeyed promptly and snatched the boy's hand with the retriever following them behind. The other boy followed without question, trying to not think about the mother he just got robbed of, forever. The young hunter, lost in his own thoughts, was trying to find something to say on their way until he realized that if he wanted to bring his companion home, he'd at least need to start a conversation with him, and mainly, get his home address.

But he took so much time to ponder on what he'd ask that the other one started the conversation for him.

"H-Hey… Thank you for earlier…"

The young hunter slowed down his track, with Vongole decelerating down with him. He proudly grinned at the black haired kid. "Hey, no problem!" Apollo replied, a lot more determined now. "I was just doing my job! Say, what's your name?"

"Clay, Clay Terran… what about you?"

"I'm Apollo Justice, nice to meet ya, Clay!"

"S… Same to you, Apollo…"

* * *

Date: September 30th 2016, 11:12 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Living Room

In the end, both kids ended up in Gavin's residence as the boy was unable to let out coherent words on their way home. Aside, the condo was not too far from the park, so the faster they found shelter inside protected walls, the better. Clay kept murmuring something about "no", "daddy" and "sad", so instead Apollo proposed him to go to their own residence, to which Clay complied (maybe he really wanted to avoid his father at this time?). Apollo lent him one of his large t-shirt and a pair of pajamas since Clay's old clothes were soiled with too much blood.

"Sorry," the brunette started. "I wish I could give you better clothes, but you're a bit taller than I, so I had to give… these ugly things instead…"

Both were sitting on the couch with Vongole sleeping in Mr. Gavin's bedroom and Trucy was still fast slumbering in the remaining bedroom she shared with her brother. Apollo had opened the TV, but he soon realized it wasn't much of a good idea when there was nothing for children of their generation to watch at this time of the day. Not that it really mattered when the guest was just sitting around, emptily staring to the floor like a wandering spirit lost in the world of living. He uncomfortably still pondered what he could do to make the situation better, but the only thing he could do was to massage the back of his head while letting a mortified grin out, leaving out a small "heh".

Finally, more sobs were heard. Clay seemed to have come back to life and he let the emotions flow through his feelings. "Sniff… Mom…"

Attempting at reassuring him, Apollo gave him a pat on the back. "Clay… it's going to be fine…"

However, Clay almost shooed his hand away, his eyes watered down like a shower of sadness and frustration. His tone suddenly increased in volume. "No, it's not going to be fine!" he finally cried out.

Nevertheless, Apollo insisted to stay by his side, not even flinching from his place. He needed to be a hero in his own way, right now. "Clay, listen to me… I…" For a second, the boy dug deep in his thoughts to find the right words to cheer the other one up. Maybe his own experience might help. "…I don't have a mother either."

This attracted the boy's attention. He innocently left out a tiny "Huh?" before he stared at his savior. Now Clay's eyes, while still not fully dried out of his own tears, were filled with curiosity.

The sadness still hung around Apollo's voice as he spoke, but he made his best to keep an encouraging smile. "My mother… died to vampires along with my uncle and my sister's father. I also lost my grandfather and my father to vampires too when I was younger. But… I'm alive! When there's life, there's hope!"

"Everyone else has a mother at school, and sometimes, I'm wondering… Am I the only one to not have one?"

Right now, Apollo introduced a new, honest smile to his companion. "But, you know," he added. "When I start to feel that way, I yell at the top of my lungs! I holler 'I'm fine!', and you know what? I start to feel like maybe I really will be fine!"

Then he cried out loud: "APOLLO JUSTICE IS FINE!"

The black haired boy suddenly jolted out like someone who had just woken up from a nightmare. His heartbeat fastened at the speed of light. When everything calmed down, Clay almost felt relieved. He was nearly glad to know that his savior had also lived a similar experience to him, only to become quite an enthusiastic boy who turned out okay in the end. Maybe he will really be fine, just like Apollo.

The surprises hit him further as Apollo turned to him with an amicable grin. "Your turn, Clay!"

Clay sniffled a little more as he tried to shift back into his own control. Apollo was right. There was nothing he could do to bring his mother back, now that the deed was done, but he knew his mother would be even sadder if she were to see him in that state.

His fists set, his teeth gritting with effort, he let out a soft murmur. "C-Clay Terran… is f-fine…"

Apollo laughed at his attempt and patted the boy again on the back. "C'mon, Clay, you can do better! Remember, you're fine!"

This surge of encouragement gave him enough will to finally let his happier scream out. "C-CLAY TERRAN IS… FINE!"

And somehow, he had never felt so wonderful since the tragedy.

So proud to have given a little change of heart on the black haired boy, Apollo stood up pompously, his finger pointing the celling with happiness. "There you go!" he added, eying Clay on the side. "Now we're both fine! Let's say this again, all right?"

"All right!" Clay immediately replied, enthusiast as ever.

"APOLLO JUSTICE IS FINE!"

"CLAY TERRAN IS FINE!"

Their shenanigan lasted for few more seconds until Apollo yelped in surprise when someone unexpectedly grabbed one of his arms. Both boys stopped cold and turned their head behind to find a tired little Trucy, her dried eyes half-open, her mouth still dripping with some sleepy saliva, one of her hands gripping at her brother.

"Polly…" she mumbled, ready to fall asleep at any time. "You're noisy. Please stop."

The two boys went silent for a moment while eyeing her, and few seconds later, the big brother let out a small, sudden snicker. He then proceeded to stroke his sister's messy hair. "Awww!" Apollo left out, still quite embarrassed for waking her up. "It's okay, Trucy, go back to sleep. We're sorry."

The little girl, after moaning a huge yawn, obeyed with no further question and went back to their bedroom, proceeding to shut the door while keeping a curious eye on the black haired newcomer. Who was that guy, anyway?

Soon after, a clicking was heard from the entrance door, and then it opened itself, revealing the comeback of Mr. Gavin and another middle aged man, the latter one having a frown on his eyebrows and some tears in his eyes. The only thought that came to Apollo was "Who exactly was that man?"

Suddenly, he looked back at Clay who stared at the man, his gaze empty just like before, as he seemed to have fallen back into his original state of mind, into pure grief.

"D-Dad…" the black haired boy muttered as water began filling his sight once again.

The man, apparently Clay's father, slowly kneeled down to his son's level and opened his arms, welcoming the boy into a warm, long hug. The child sulked into his father's chest, holding the man tight while the latter held him closer, smoothly landing the palm of his hand on his son's hair, gently patting him.

"It's okay, Clay…" the man whispered to his ears as he started trembling. "Y-Your mother was a wonderful w-woman, but I'm sure now she's in a better place. I'm still here for you…"


	6. Downfall

_Once again, the previous chapter was supposed to be much longer. So instead, have a shorter Chapter 5. For some reason, this chapter was a pain to write._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 5: Downfall**

Date: October 10th 2016, 12:21 PM  
Place: District High School, Schoolyard

The boy scouted every parts of the schoolyard, but no sign of the one he was searching for. He swore he had seen him before when he started school earlier in August. These two hair antennas were just too obvious to forget and he knew that the brunette attended the same school as him. Thanks to the famous social media website and its awesome name search system, it confirmed the fact furthermore.

It had been about a week and few days since Clay had been saved by that Apollo and his mentor. He had absented himself from school and his everyday life from the outside world the entire time to mourn over the murder of his mother. Thanks to the young hunter advice, he had decided to have his own chords of steel sessions of shouting "I'm fine!" at home whenever the thoughts of his mother came back to him.

Of course he still missed her, but he told himself he couldn't grieve over her forever. If someone like Apollo lost all his family, save for his little sister, and still managed to hurl a sincere smile at everyone, then he could do this too. And aside, he had his loving father to support him and he had never been so glad to still have a direct family member alive with him. He now knew that he must never consider the ones he loved for granted.

He still remembered the day at the "firm" of the hunters, which was nothing more than a residence, when his father came for him with Mr. Gavin. He had wondered how did Mr. Gavin find out the address and phone number to call his father, but it appeared that all of that information were found on his mother. He also pondered how he knew he was with Apollo in the firm, but apparently Apollo himself sent him a text to tell him about it.

He had forgotten to thank Apollo and his master for everything they did since he had not said a single word when he left with his father. He wanted to make up for this and bought a deluxe chocolate box as a thank you gift. However, he needed to find Apollo first.

He walked among all the other boys and girls, all of them staring at him with their eyebrows higher, wondering why the heck he was holding a box of chocolate at school. Some of his classmates who were by chance on his way even went as far as teasing him by asking "Who's the lucky girl?" Little did they know the tragedy behind all of this…

Soon enough, his intense search for the antenna boy finally went fruitful. He could see him, sitting alone under the shadow of the great lone tree, on the outskirt of the schoolyard, calmly reading some kind of huge book. Clay had never been so glad to find him. "Hey, Apollo!" he shouted out, calling for his attention.

To his disappointment, Apollo did not turn back at his call, and suddenly, Clay felt a little too shy to approach the guy anymore. Maybe he was ignoring him on purpose, or he just didn't want to talk. Maybe…

Wait a minute. There were some kind of white cords reaching for his ears… Oh, headphones, that explained the silent treatment! Clay let out a sigh of relief and ran after the quiet, studying boy, calling him again, this time, much louder.

Thanks to his efforts, Apollo quickly raised his head upon hearing his name. He took off a headphone and turned around to see the one he had saved, rushing toward him. The brunette's lips immediately curled up at the sight of Clay. "Hey, Clay!" Apollo called back, waving back at him.

"Apollo! You remember my name!" Clay added when he finally reached the other boy who started to stand up to meet him.

Apollo laughed with a meek grin. "Of course I remember you, Clay Terran! Why shouldn't I?"

At the question, Clay slightly lowered his head on the side, scratching his neck in shyness. "Well, I didn't think someone as cool as you would remember someone so uncool like me…"

Hearing the word "cool" suddenly gave a chill to the young hunter. "Wait, you think I'm cool?" Apollo asked, still shocked.

"Of course!" Clay loudly answered. It seemed he had adopted the brunette's "chords of steel". "I mean, you're a hunter and you saved me! So, hum… I want to thank you… so I bought this box of chocolate for you!"

As the black haired boy held out the box to the other, Apollo stood still, silently watching the sweets, dumbfounded by the sudden gift. He was not sure what to say about all of this. A perplexed expression appeared on Clay when he noticed his companion's confused face. "Wait, you don't like chocolate?" the taller kid questioned.

"Well, I'm… flattered…" Apollo revealed, a bit on the shy side. "But… I wasn't expecting this… And also, you've thanked me enough times that day already, and your father thanked us too, so it was all right…"

At Apollo's comments, Clay looked a bit down. He really seemed to have worked hard to bring the gift, even though there might be some truth about the gift being a little "too girly" as the others teased.

"But hey, that doesn't mean I won't accept your gift!" Apollo abruptly exclaimed as he reached for the box, displaying another smile. Clay's eyes shined with delight. "I adore chocolates! And even better, why not sharing them with you? Come and sit down!"

The brunette quickly sat on the ground and watched as the black haired boy shyly followed him by sitting on his side. Excited about having some chocolate for dinner (because he had forgotten his lunch at home), he shoved his hands on the box cover to rip it apart like a joyful kid with a gift on his birthday.

The two guys initiated their sweet dinner, and goodness, those chocolates were extremely delicious. Laughers and enjoyment reigned on these two as they devoured the sweets together. The minutes went by, and it was almost as if they had been friends since forever, speaking of their own dreams. Apollo wished to become a successful defense attorney, defending the innocents from false verdicts, and Clay dreamed of becoming a renowned astronaut who will eventually go beyond the moon and even Mars. Soon enough, they'd both start speaking about everything and anything.

"That reminds me," Apollo started, his mouth still full of chocolate. "When I saw you in the park last time, I couldn't recall seeing you before. I mean, we are the same age and yet I've never seen you in my past classes, or even seen you in other classes…"

"Oh…" Clay said, cleaning his messy brown stain on his mouth with a napkin. "That's because we've just moved in the city this summer for my father's job, so that's why!"

"But you remember me as a student from another class!"

"Well, your hair antennas stand out!"

"That much?"

"Yes."

Apollo started to fiddle with his two pointy hair pieces, letting them fall in front of his face, his two dark brown pupils watching them innocently. "Well, I still like them!" he protested, chuckling.

Clay smirked like a silly hyena along with him, but after soothing down a little, a frown appeared on his face. "Say, Apollo, do other students know that you're a hunter?"

The smaller boy became a bit thoughtful at the question. Strangely, he stared at his weird bracelet for a while before he looked up above, toward the clear blue sky. It took him few moments before he gave an answer. "No, they don't."

The other one's eyes went wide, gasping at the answer. "Huh? Why not?" Clay expressed, shocked. "I mean, people will come and praise you for what you do!"

Slowly, Apollo turned to Clay, his stare filled with some kind of innocence and melancholy. "Clay, I'm not searching for praise. I just want to make a useful contribution in this world."

"Woah, so you just want to help people?"

"Yeah!" Apollo replied, enthusiastic, but his tone went down a little after. "Well, there's another reason why I can't really tell anyone. I mean, do you notice how… young we both are?"

"Well, duh, of course I do!"

"That's exactly it. Legally, I don't even have the rights to hunt vampires, at least not with a lucrative goal in mind. You need to be at least eighteen with a hunting license, and… guess you know that I don't have one!"

Because he wanted the young hunter to have the recognition he deserved, Clay suddenly wanted to object, with his index finger ready to prove him that laws couldn't stop him to gain fame, until he quickly admitted defeat after deeper judgments. "So, all the kills you do, I bet it's credited to your mentor?"

"Yep, exactly! That's why I can't really speak about it out loud. If the authority finds out, there's a chance Mr. Gavin will lose his license and his hunting firm! So, let's keep this a secret between us, all right?"

"Hey, no problem! I mean, you saved me, so there's no way I'll betray you!"

Unfortunately, their chocolate box was now empty of sweets, and both of the boys dropped their lips in disappointment. They would have liked to get more in stores right now, but they knew the school recess was about to end soon. However, before letting the school bell ring, a determined expression appeared on Clay, his two fists clenching toward the ground. His shoulders raised higher and he intensely stared at Apollo. The brunette watched the other boy, stunned at the sudden reaction and at how… silly he looked.

"Say, Apollo!" Clay began, his own chords of steel in effect. "Before we return to class, I just need to tell you… that I don't know much people here, and that I'm new and all! So let's be friends, okay?"

A silence was in place for a few seconds before Apollo burst out laughing. He let more giggles out before he finally gained control over his voice.

"Clay, I thought we were friends already!" Apollo revealed.

* * *

Date: March 22th 2019, 6:45 PM  
Place: Cosmos Space Center, Space Museum

Like a lost soul, Athena desperately tried to search for the one she considered her big brother. She kept calling him, only to get an empty answer. An employee watched her hopelessly and wished she could give the child a clear answer about the whereabouts of the man, but she hadn't seen him either. The little girl looked so much anxious to not find her "samurai" that, in the end, she used up all of her courage to ask the employee for an answer, but the woman simply shooed her away since she needed to clean up the museum.

Unsatisfied, Athena ran toward the main entrance, where she noticed one of her small friends around. "Ponco!" the girl called the other one, waving frantically at "her" while introducing her brightest smile.

Ponco was, in fact, the robotic product of one of Metis and Aura's main researches, but Athena had always seen the machine like a normal, live being. The small robot, upon hearing the call of her name, turned to the little girl and, interestingly, called the live one back. "Hello! Hello!" the robot greeted with a visibly enthusiast, childish voice as Athena went to give her a hug.

"Ponco!" the girl called again, intensely staring in the "eyes" of the robot, showing signs of worry to the machine. "Have you seen Simon? I was supposed to meet him today, but I can't find him!"

The robot spun her head around with her arm crossed, the screen of her face showing an expression of confusion. "Simon?" Ponco questioned. "I have exactly thirteen men with the first name of Simon in my database."

Athena laughed at the robot. "Silly Ponco! You know who I'm talking about! Simon Blackquill, of course!"

Ponco stopped spinning her head and to make sure she found out the answer to the little girl, a picture of a man appeared on her screen. "Is this the Simon Blackquill you spoke of?" the robot asked.

"Yes! That's him!" Athena replied with a clapping on her hands. "Have you seen him?"

The intelligent machine returned to her happy expression and started pumping her arms in the air to display joy. "Yes! I've seen Simon Blackquill!" Ponco revealed. "He said he was going to the robotic lab!"

Upon getting a finally decent answer, the girl went speechless. About twenty minutes ago, she was over there waiting for the young man. If she'd waited a little longer, she'd probably have met him already. She smacked her forehead before she turned back to the lab after thanking her little mechanic friend. She ran as fast as she could, ignoring all the people on her way. She'd even shove some around and she was getting annoyed stares everywhere. But she didn't care; her only wish right now was to see her male friend!

Soon, as she turned around the corner, one more door and she was there! Only if there wasn't something on her way to suddenly charge into. She brusquely fell down on the floor with a small headache. When she lifted her head up to see the thing she went into, she found the one she had been looking for!

Simon was on the ground, dazed by the small calamity. When he found the cause of the accident, he couldn't help himself but smile at his little friend. "Hey there, Cykes-dono, how have you been?" he greeted with a small laugh.

"Simon!" the girl called cheerfully, quickly getting up to hug him by his neck. "I heard you passed the bar exam!"

The samurai man gave her a little pat on the head. He entered a hand in one pocket to take out a new shiny sun badge. "Wow! That's beautiful!" Athena whispered in admiration, her eyes sparkling with marvel at the slight light reflect from the little badge. "That means you are now a prosecutor, putting the bad guys in prison!"

Happy to see Athena on such good mood, he decided to reveal a last thing. "This doesn't end here," he added. "I've just gotten my hunting license as a private hunter as well."

Athena almost squealed like a rabid fangirl. "You are so awesome, Simon!"

"I'm… flattered!" the guy laughed, blushing a little. "You know, I wish I could have these ears of yours, they'd be quite useful to find a prey!"

The girl nodded in agreement as he spoke. "Uh-Huh! I know, right?" Athena declared. "That's why, when I'll be older, I'll help you find the bad vampires! Spare the good ones, remember!"

Dumbfounded by the hasty revelation, Simon gulped. Since when did the girl want to be a hunter? He sighed. Exasperation could be hear from him, and Athena fell it too. "Cykes-dono, hunting for vampire is not a game, do you realize this?"

After hearing her friend's comment, Athena moped and crossed her arms in frustration. "Of course I know it's not a game!" she cried out in protest. "But if it's dangerous for me, it's dangerous for you too! I thought the bigger the team, the safer! And aside, I know I'm too young for this now. That's why I want to grow older before I do anything dangerous!"

After little Athena spoke of her words, his samurai soul started to kick in his mind. His conscience was trying to tell him that no girl, especially not the daughter of his mentor, should let herself exposed to such danger at night. However, part of his more humane side really wished this little girl could put her skill to use so it will make her happy. After all, happiness should be mandatory on everyone, and the girl definitely lacked some.

"So," the girl started, prancing left to right gleefully. "Are you going to announce this to Mommy and Aunt Aura?"

* * *

Date: April 6th 2019, 3:06 AM  
Place: Cosmos Space Center, Personal Cykes Lounge

There had had been better nights in this lounge, the "home" of the Cykes family. Tonight, exhausted, Metis had to deal with a certain daughter of hers who kept having nightmares, unable to keep her sweet dreams as she drifted away in the darkness. The little girl ranted how things, monsters and people were keeping her awake and that they wouldn't go no matter what. It was so tiring to the point that the mother was so tempted to use one of her sleeping pills, but of course, she would never do that to her own child.

Crying "Hallelujah!" was of her best interests when Athena was finally sound asleep like an immobile, silent rock, but for her own good, it was better remaining silent for the rest of the night. Metis, smiling at her sleeping child, gave a gentle kiss on her forehead, wishing her a sweet good night before she returned to her room, closing the door as soundlessly as possible before disturbing her much sensitive ears. Even if this was Saturday and she was given the day off, she still needed to act and be the mother her child needed by the morning.

Oh well, the sunlight of the morning was sure to come faster during the spring season.

To her dismay, as she fell aimlessly on her comfortable bed, a loud crashing sound came upsetting her cherished silence. Naturally, startled by the crash, she quickly grabbed her tool knife with a grunt, almost not even scared of what may come to her (maybe she was too tired to think in a way). She speedily made her way to the Robotic lab where the sound seemed to come from.

She did not expect the surprise that awaited her.

"Aura!" Metis cried out, horrified by the sight, her trembling hands dropping the small knife as it made a clung sound upon hitting the floor. The mother observed her friend who was limping around in confusion, a hand weakly leaned on a table with the other one holding the side of her neck, a warm flow of dark blood protruding from an unseen wound under her shaking fingers.

The leaned hand of the destabilized engineer finally gave in as Aura fell down on the floor with an unheard short cry. Metis leaped over her injured friend, checking for signs of what exactly happened to her. She remembered Aura decided to go for a nice girl time in the downtown for the Friday night earlier. Was the injury the result of all of this?

Then Metis saw it: a bite mark on Aura's bloody neck.

A vampire bite.

"M-Metis…" the distressed woman whispered, virtually crying of pain, her teary, terrified eyes watching the psychologist. It took all of her effort to simply call her friend. It seemed she was begging for help.

"Aura!" Metis called again, panicking but trying to keep her composure. "D-Don't move, stay here, okay? You've been bitten by a vampire, am I right?"

Once again, Aura's eyes refused to leave Metis's, and all the mother could see was despair and horror in them. "Am… Am I going to be… one?" the bleeding engineer asked in fear, her trembling lips almost unable to say the right word for the creatures of the night. "I-I-I mean… I'm still a-alive… and when b-bitten humans stay a-alive…"

Metis snagged a cloth on the table and laid it on the injury. She forced Aura to hold it with her hands as she got up and frantically rummaged through the laboratory cupboards until she found the things she was searching for.

The partial result of her side researches, the medications to make vampires part of the human life, the medications that will control their hunger and instincts.

Metis knew, and it was a common knowledge among the human beings and among the vampires as well. She knew when a human get bitten by a vampire and that the human does not die by the bite or by another means, the human is condemned to suffer the unfortunate fate of the immortality of the night, for eternity. And Aura will become one of them in a matter of minutes.

However, there was a solution to this, and Metis knew Aura did not have to succumb to the predatory instincts that would eventually hit her as soon as she will feel the hunger of the bloody feast. No, she made her solution as a part of her researches, and now, she was able to test it.

Quickly, Metis snatched one of her prized pills and carefully slipped it in the bloodied mouth. To her horror, under Aura's upper lip, she could see them: the newly formed fangs.

"Here, Aura…" Metis whispered, her gaze full of compassion, with a gentle smile appearing on her own lips. Aura looked at her as she nervously gulped the pill, and the stare Metis gave her strangely soothed her soul like she was the own kindhearted mother she needed in urgent times. "With this medication, you will live like a normal person, just like me, anyone else or your former self… Don't worry about your condition, you won't become like them with these pills, I can assure you. Trust me…"

"Metis…" a calming Aura muttered when she started crying on the shoulder of her redeemer, leaving a mix of teary and bloodied stain on Metis's robes. "T-Thank you for your presence… Thank you… for everything… But… please… don't tell anyone… Especially not my little brother Simon…"

A sigh escaped from Metis with her next reply. "But Athena will know…"


	7. A Man of Truth

_Is that why a 37 years old Aura still looks like a 20-ish woman? And yes, you can laugh at me for the defendant name's choice in this trial. Of course, this trial is based on an already existing in-game trial!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. __I also do not own the in-game scripts that can be found in this chapter__. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 6: A Man of Truth**

Date: April 19th 2019, 9:27 AM  
Place: District Court, Lobby No. 1

Phoenix Wright.

For his very first case, he was assigned to oppose the renowned defense attorney, the one who had successfully made his name through… quite special cases with special defendants. He was the one who succeeded into defending every single clients with a non-guilty verdict (although he was not sure how he'd consider the verdict of that Nickel Samurai actor last year). The blond man knew he was a good prosecutor, but as good as that defense attorney? He wasn't so sure of himself.

Maybe, yes, he had been deemed a genius by almost everyone, including his own family, friends and even few strangers. Yes, he was starting to form his own music band; he and his friends were already having a successful career in the show business with their first hit "Thirteen Years Hard Time for Love". Yes, he was still a not-so-legal skilled hunter on his spare time with his brother, despite being in the law himself. Yes, he had been admitted to the famed Themis Legal Academy, then he went to Germany for an additional two years study to pass the bar exam earlier than normal, and he succeeded at everything with fairly high scores. Yes, studying and exams were a breeze to him. Yes, he became a prosecutor at the tender age of seventeen.

But nothing could compare to the sudden nervousness he felt when he was now realizing he was being stuck between four soundproof walls, all alone, in a real courthouse.

Nothing beats the experience, because he had none, for now. So how could a nothing like him "beat" the experience like Wright?

Carefully, Klavier looked at his papers again, mainly the autopsy report and a thick written journal with a torn page near the end. Evidences, those were crucial evidences, of course. He quickly re-read the case summary. So, apparently, the defendant, Disha Ramgein, was a famed magician who had to kill his mentor on his dead bed in the hospital with a gunshot in the forehead. The witness, his "magic" partner Lavant Maragyre, will take the stand to make sure the accused will be found guilty. He hadn't known much of this Maragyre magician, but he hoped the man will be much of help for his first case.

After all, Klavier Gavin was going against the famed Phoenix Wright.

He then reminded of his meeting with his brother, just the night before in his new office.

_There was an unusual smirk across the older man's face when he spoke to his younger brother. "The attorney you'll face is not to be trusted," Kristoph told him. "Don't even give him the benefit of your respect. Listen…"_

_There was a small pause before he continued, and Klavier was all ears. In any case, he needed everything to win his first case, especially if the defendant was really guilty and that everything pointed at him. "There will be a special witness to the case. My friends of laws already spoke to him and arranged him in this case. I want you to call in this special witness, then…"_

Then he remembered. He knew the special witness will be waiting for his turn wisely and silently among the audience in the gallery. He'll only need to formulate a plan to call him when the time will be right. But when will the time be right, exactly?

Suddenly, the door of the lobby burst out open in a loud clacking noise, jolting the nerves of the new prosecutor with a joyful "Klavier!" coming along with it. The young man turned his glare at the entrance and sighed in relief when he noticed three familiar sightings coming close to him by running, a bit too fast for his taste. Soon enough, the three people nearly shoved into him, but somehow, Klavier didn't mind much. Actually, he felt gratified to see acquainted people; he needed the encouragement.

"Fräulein, Herr Forehead, Herr Terran!" the prosecutor called out, welcoming the younger ones with open arms. The moment almost felt cheesy. "What are you doing here?"

Clay had actually met Klavier few times, but he was still not really familiar with the little brother of his best friend's mentor. He gave a little distance compared to the two others who were visibly more excited than him.

"Klavier!" Apollo called out, bliss in his shiny eyes and a grin plastered on his face. "We came to wish you good luck for your first trial! You're a great lawyer! Don't let Mr. Wright's experience get you down!"

The young prosecutor appeared grateful by the praise given by the one he could practically call his law apprentice, but what attracted his curiosity was not their sudden presence, but Trucy's new attire. She looked… like a caped magician, especially with that… stereotypical silk hat over her head.

"Fräulein?" the blond haired man addressed to the little girl with an odd interest. "Is… there a special event? Why are you dressed like this?"

A sentiment of glee took over the little girl when Klavier mentioned her new costume. "You noticed?" Trucy yelled out, all pleased. "I get to perform at the Wonder Bar soon, so I needed to try these new clothes! Did you forget that my parents were famous magicians?"

Klavier went speechless for few seconds before he commented. "Ach, I knew that, but I wasn't aware you actually knew tricks!"

The magician girl crossed her arms in doubt, looking above on the side. "Well, Internet searches and watching re-runs of our family troupe taught me new things, but, hey! A magician never reveals their secrets!"

As soon as she mentioned the word of "secret", her older brother cringed before he returned his attention to the prosecutor. "Yeah, never bother asking her," Apollo added, his voice seemingly a little annoyed. "She won't even tell me."

"That reminds me," Clay finally spoke out in spite of his shyer feelings among them. He looked like having a clever comment to add to their silly discussion. "I heard the accused is a famed magician and he has a daughter about your age Trucy!"

Apollo looked at him with a higher eyebrow. "Yes, and?" he commented, wondering where exactly his friend was going with the statement.

The black haired teen grinned wide. "Do you know the multiverse theory, where there is an infinite amount of universes in the universe? I bet that in one of those universes, we'd see you and your father in this very courtroom instead! It'd be kinda neat, don't you guys think?"

Ah yes, now Klavier remembered a thing about that boy: he was a fan of space and anything related to astronomy. How silly, their last names coincided with all of their dreamed goals. Apollo Justice wanted to bring justice to criminals and the creature of the nights. Trucy Enigmar wished to be a famed magician like her parents, and of course, magicians' tricks were an enigma to the normal world. Finally, Clay Terran dreamed of being an astronaut, and he was aware of the word Terra that was basically related to the planet Earth.

It would have been even more fun if his own last name "Gavin" meant anything.

But enough of the childish discussion, he had a trial to win!

"Thank you for your support, guys, but I need to prepare for this case!" Klavier finally let out in exasperation, trying his hardest to not insult his friends' encouraged words. To his luck, none of them took his comment in the wrong way.

"Of course!" the brunette teen exclaimed, answering his mentor's brother's remark. "You should go all prepared! We'll be rooting for you from the gallery! And also, don't tense too much, it's annoying!"

His last bit of words prompted Apollo to grip at his bracelet, and Klavier noticed it well. Damnit, and there he thought he'd be able to hide his little fear for the first trial, but no tension or slight anxiety were able to escape this boy's attention.

Seeing the two male teenagers and the female child, he wished to have an adult presence at least, someone like Kristoph to come and encourage him with wise, older people's words. He knew Kristoph was a full-time hunter, but he could have at least watch his little brother's first trial.

* * *

Date: April 19th 2019, 10:00 AM  
Place: District Court, Courtroom No. 7

"Court is now in session for the trial of Disha Ramgein."

"The defense is ready, Your Honor."

Then silence, utter silence.

Suddenly, all stares were turned to the prosecutor bench. Strangely, the young, newbie lawyer was there, unfazed by the silence that reigned over the big room and the attention he managed to draw toward him with no action at all. Still, there was one person who could feel the intense tension emanating from the poor prosecutor, and Apollo thought Klavier was actually very good in showing off his cool despite all of the anxiety he was feeling. No wonder he was a skilled young man in the show business by acting out.

The judge, still glancing at the prosecutor, returned a remark. "Is the prosecution ready?" His deep, strict voice echoed through the wide room.

A voice finally escaped. "…I was just thinking, is this what all the fuss is about? Bit of a buzz-kill, really."

From the gallery, Apollo's palm went to hit his forehead as his friend continued his interaction with all of the people of the law present. While Klavier's acting was top-notch, his speech felt more than a little cheesy for his taste and he wished the blond young man would just stop wasting his time and just go over with the trial. He wanted to see his friend win, but at the same time, he knew what mattered was the truth behind the whole story.

Even if Klavier was to lose his first trial, at least an innocent man could have avoided a guilty verdict.

However, Apollo was also attentively watching the defense attorney, the famous Phoenix Wright, whom he still remembered as the one who inspired him to eventually follow the same path into defending the innocents. There was something different about him today. Unlike in that old story he saw about two years and half ago on TV where he remembered a more passionate Mr. Wright, the one who stood in this very room appeared a bit… too much confident, almost rash about his own skills as a lawyer.

Perhaps experience was a bringer of corruption, he thought.

The tension seemed to have disappeared when the prosecutor spoke. Eventually, there was no need to hide the fear anymore.

Klavier was really good.

"…Achtung, baby. Time to call on the opening act," the prosecutor exclaimed, now self-assurance flowing through his spirits. "What was his name again? Ah yes… Detective Gumshoe! Hit it!"

Indeed, it hit the young teen when hearing the name of the detective. When a tall, scruffy-looking detective appeared on the witness stand, he finally remembered.

Apollo turned his eyes to Trucy who seemed to be in deep thought just like him. Then, in turn, she rolled her stare to her older brother. Whispering to her ears, Apollo spoke first. "Trucy! That detective, Mr. Gumshoe…"

"Yes, yes!" Trucy yelled out with a strange contentment, pointing at the new, scruffy man standing on the witness place. "I remember Gummy man! He's Gummy man!"

The sight of the tall detective suddenly brought them back to the old days, those fateful days when their family had forever disappeared to the hands of the monsters of the night like a terrifying nightmare, the nightmare that became a reality. When everything was dark and sorrowful, when hope was lost, there was the man who brought them light when they needed it. Trucy attempted to cry out for his attention so the man will come see her and play with her like in those early times, but Apollo immediately shushed her to make sure the trial continued without any delay.

Yet, Apollo really wished he could speak to the man at least once before they'll part ways again to thank the man for what he had done four years earlier since he never had the opportunity to do so.

"Name's Dick Gumshoe. I'm a homicide detective down at the precinct," the detective started, seemingly more assured than ever before turning to Mr. Wright with a cynical grin. They didn't look that friendly, the two of them. "Hey, you!"

"H-Huh? Me?" the defense attorney let out, a bit surprised.

"Today's the day, pal," Detective Gumshoe stated. "Today, I win, and you lose!"

Definitely not friendly toward each other's.

The silly behavior between the two older men of law brought intervention from the young prosecutor. "Herr Detective," Klavier calmly called out. His voice was hiding a certain exasperation. "This is my stage. Can the antics."

This prompted the detective to leave out a small "Huh?"

Klavier continued, a bit more harshly this time. "All this 'hey you'-ing and such. I could care less about your history together."

After witnessing the unsure and somewhat victimized response from the poor detective, both Apollo and Trucy childishly went to sulk on their bench, feeling bad for the man and how he was being treated by their own friend. Clay laid an eye on them and noticed the strange reaction from both of them, wondering why they were suddenly looking so down, almost frustrated. The space fanboy, not really interested into the trial so far, went to look upon his best friend.

"Hey Apollo!" Clay addressed. "You seem a bit angry."

Apollo continued to watch the witness stand, his crossing arms refusing to defuse themselves. "I don't really like how Klavier threats that detective," the brunette simply replied, pretty much grumpy.

A perplexed stare from Clay glared at Apollo. "But that detective has been acting a little childish, no?" the space boy declared. "And, hey! I think you're starting to act that way too!"

Upon listening to his friend's comment, Apollo couldn't help but scratch his neck in a little shame. "Ah yes, sorry for this!" the smaller teen revealed, his chords of steel virtually in effect until he realized people around gave him a stern look. He lowered his tone. "I guess I'll just follow the rest of the trial carefully…"

And he better followed the rest carefully, indeed. He wanted to be a defense attorney, so he took out his smartphone and started recording the whole thing secretly (unlicensed recording was illegal after all). Unfortunately, he forgot to recharge the phone earlier and the battery died out quickly enough.

He thought things couldn't get worse.

Soon, Detective Gumshoe stepped down after his cross-examination by Mr. Wright, and a new witness was going to emerge in the end. The judge ordered a short fifteen minutes recess for Klavier to prepare the witness as well as sending the forensic team to investigate the crime scene further. To the teens' surprise, many of the people in the gallery rushed toward a particular direction: the restrooms.

"Hey, I guess this isn't a bad idea!" Clay yelled, grinning. "I'll go relieve myself too! Be right back!"

The two siblings watched as their friend disappeared among the long lineup with all the other adults. Apollo let out a long breath until Trucy pulled his coat, needing his attention, apparently. "Hey Polly, I'm hungry!" she cried out.

Trying to make himself strict, being her big brother after all, Apollo stood a little straighter than usual, his hands firmly laid on his hips and his gaze staring at her with a stern appearance. "Well, Trucy, you didn't want to eat breakfast today!" the older brother revealed. "You knew the trial will last long!"

The girl crossed her arms in protest. "I knew that! But I had no idea it will be THAT long!" she squealed.

Apollo sighed in defeat since he felt a little hungry himself. He plunged a hand in a pocket and retrieved his small wallet. He looked into it and let a small 10$ bill slide out. Seeing the glee in Trucy's smile as she watched the valuable piece of paper, the brother was unable to hide his compassion toward his little sister.

Maybe that was a little mind manipulation trick from her, but he didn't mind.

Clutching her hand, Apollo led the way to the court hallway, located between the two court lobbies. He was relieved to see a vending machine still over there and that no one was in front of it. This made him glad since he'd be able to get a food fast so they could return to the gallery quickly and not lose their seats.

That was until he saw what the machine was offering.

Suddenly, he almost wanted to cherish his little 10$ bill and keep everything for himself, especially when the cheapest offer had a gruesome cost of 6$. 6$ for a Swiss Roll. Well, two rolls.

But that wasn't all. There was a carton of milk or two hot dogs for 7$, two ham sandwiches for 8$, then some beef jerky or one orange juice for 9$.

However, Trucy's eyes lightened in wonder from the pleasing choices. She started pointing at the hot dogs. "Polly, I want the hot dogs!"

The teen's hands almost trembled when the bill disappeared into the machine and he proceeded to press the button for the hot dogs. They better be delicious with that price, Apollo thought, letting out a growl of disapproval when the machine started to emit few purrs inside. Soon enough, the two hot dogs revealed themselves at the machine bottom. Apollo quickly took over the remaining 3$ that was given back to him and Trucy happily grabbed one of these fast foods.

To her disappointment, evil molds were already devouring the pieces of meats and breads. Upon seeing his little sister's eyebrows furrowed in slight despair, Apollo wanted to yell at the remaining 3$ that was sitting comfortably on his hand as if the small round pieces of metals were laughing at him.

"Hey, you look angry, pals."

Both siblings looked up to the unexpected voice that spoke to them, and suddenly, both of them couldn't avoid the smile on their lips upon seeing the man who stood before them. A tall, scruffy man in a long coat was looking back at them, one eyebrow lifting up in confusion when the teen and the little girl abruptly looked much merrier.

"Gummy-man!" Trucy shouted out while hugging the man who scratched his head in daze.

"Mr. Gumshoe!" Apollo called out, enthusiastically.

Drats, and it was now the bigger boy's turn, the man thought.

"Huh, do I know you from somewhere?" the detective asked in confusion, uncomfortable around the two younger people.

The question nearly made Apollo sulked in dismay, but he realized the man had probably met a lot of other people in his life, and he wouldn't be surprised if the detective forgot about them. Still, he wanted to keep going.

"Maybe you don't remember us," the teen told the older man. "But my sister and I remember you! During the Gramarye case, you took care of us for about a week, and… we never had the opportunity to thank you for being there for us! So, thank you, sir!"

After hearing the comments from the young guy, Detective Gumshoe gasped in surprise. He started smiling as well. "I remember you, pals!" he yelled out to them while proceeding to stroke the hair of both, suddenly making Apollo feel a little small. "Apollo… and Trucy, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes! You remember us!" Trucy yelled along with him happily, still hugging the man.

"I'm glad to see you two kids growing up so well!" Detective Gumshoe added, proud to see the two kids having a happy life despite having lost everything as if they were his own children. "How's the new foster family the police found for you?"

The detective shut his mouth for a moment when he noticed the awkward silence the two kids gave him after asking the question. To make up for this, he decided to go for another question. "So you guys are interested in the law too?"

To his relief, Apollo's smile came back at the new question. "Yeah!" the teen exclaimed, joyful. "I'm studying to be a lawyer, and Prosecutor Gavin is our friend!"

"So you're on the prosecution's side?" the detective asked. "It's good to see more people on our side!"

Another silence. The man felt bad for not being a good talker to kids, or even teenagers. Fortunately for him, the siblings didn't look angry but simply dumbfounded.

"Well, it doesn't matter who wins," Apollo started, looking wise. "As long as people find out the truth! And Mr. Wright looks like a man of truth!"

Detective Gumshoe grinned in awkwardness. He knew the boy's words were right, but for once, he wished to see the prosecutors he worked for win!

The recess was going to end soon, and Detective Gumshoe was still hungry. When he noticed the moldy hot dogs the little girl was sadly holding, he decided to dig his hands into his pocket to surprisingly find an old 5$ bill. "Hey kids," the detective started with a hint of hope in his voice. "What can you get with another 5$?"

Trucy had never been that pleased to see a 5$ bill, and soon, Apollo felt the same way.

"At least I can say those Swiss Rolls are delicious, pals! Let's share it between the three of us!"

* * *

Date: April 19th 2019, 11:37 AM  
Place: District Court, Courtroom No. 7

"Court is now back in session."

Apollo was still carefully following the trial from the gallery, watching as Klavier stated a new fact about the trial. Actually, the forensic team managed to find a bullet in the head of a clown doll, matching the weapon's type that was used to murder the man on the hospital bed. He tried to remember everything since it was out of the way to film the thing when his phone had died. Trucy and Clay were having heavy eyelids and the girl was drifting in her dream world, her head gently resting on her brother's friend chest. Unfortunately for the future lawyer, the only thing he could hear after a while were the snores from both of them. Since when little girls snored?

At one point, the new witness appeared. This was surely getting interesting because new information always come out when new witnesses stood over that bench.

The young teen almost laughed at the speaking magician standing between the two lawyers' benches. The way he acted and spoke was almost poetic to the point that Lavant Maragyre reminded him of his former "uncle", Valant. Even their names felt similar and he was really starting to believe in the so called multiverse theory Clay mentioned earlier. He was pretty sure that somewhere, somehow, Uncle Valant and Uncle Zak would be standing in a kind of trial for a same type of murder.

Of course, he knew in their own universe, that wasn't possible.

He suddenly lost a bit interest in the trial, thinking about his old family, his two uncles, his mother and even his grandfather. There was something so similar to this trial setting with his own family that he was wondering if anyone connected to the trial story were a reincarnation of his lost family.

He missed everyone so much.

Suddenly, few loud bangs from the gavel startled him and everyone else around him. People in the gallery started to gossip a little bit too loudly when the new fact just came out from the trial. Apollo kind of cursed himself for not following the trial since he was not sure what was happening anymore.

"Order! Order! Order!" the judge suddenly shouted, his voice still echoing rather vociferously in the court before he calmed down with the rest of the people "Well, this is all rather sudden…"

"OBJECTION!"

A sarcastic small laugh was heard from the prosecution. It was almost creepy. "Heh heh heh heh… What have I done?" Klavier turned to Mr. Wright with a smirk. "I owe the court an apology. Sorry."

Once again, Apollo didn't really like this side of his prosecutor friend. He knew Klavier was a bit on the scornful side with anyone, but he didn't know he was even more in a real trial.

"S-Sorry for what!?" the defense asked in bewilderment.

Klavier continued coolly as ever. "You see, I was unaware that two of these unique pistols were crafted. The analysis of the rifling marks only proved the type of gun that fired them."

"OBJECTION!"

This time, the protesting objection came from the defense himself. "But… But that's not what you told us before!" Mr. Wright informed. "You said you'd verified the murder weapon!"

In which Klavier replied: "Which is why I'm apologizing to you now. Quite sincerely, I might add… Would you hold me accountable for a mistake made in my youth?"

"That was just this morning!"

"… I am still young."

From the gallery, the brunette teen grumbled at the prosecutor. He definitely didn't like this side of him. Blaming his youth? What a cheap excuse! He once heard about a German prosecutor who started her job at thirteen, and never had she blamed her mistakes to her young age! Was he seeing… a weakness from his friend, a weakness he never saw before?

Maybe Klavier was still a bit tense from the lack of experience. That didn't give him any reason to treat witnesses and defense attorneys in his own, unprofessional way.

Apollo swore he'd never do the same in his first trial. Ever.

Prosecutor Gavin's behavior shocked him to the point he'd rather just watch the rest of the trial and not really follow anything anymore. Nevertheless, there will be more trials in the future, and with any luck, Klavier's performance will mature a bit. Practice makes perfect, as they said.

* * *

Hours had passed, and Apollo had finally succumbed to his drowsiness along with his sister and his friend. Even the loud objection shouts and the banging of the judge's gavel weren't enough to wake him up since they became parts of the surrounding, ambient sounds. Until something suddenly vibrated on his face, abruptly waking him up from his deep slumber. He lifted up his head fast, his eyes still squinting, his mouth fully watering and saliva dripping on the entire right side of his face. He noticed he had fallen asleep on Clay's waist, directly on the pocket where his friend's cellphone was placed. Stupid notifications, he thought. He felt a little bad to see Clay's coat soaked from his own mouth, but he decided to not speak about it to him, seeing the taller teen was still fast asleep.

Apollo's attention returned to the trial that was still on-going, and this time, Klavier just presented a new evidence that seemed like a thick, personal journal that belonged to the victim, a diary of some sort. It was something about the last will of the great, dying magician. The boy wasn't so sure since he was a little lost in the full story. There was a missing page in it, in which the page was torn a bit more carefully than necessary. Somehow, Klavier provoked Mr. Wright into showing a specific evidence to proof that the victim continued his diary.

As expected, Mr. Wright presented his own evidence, which appeared to be exactly the missing page, and there was a perfect fit. The last page described how the first pupil of the dying man couldn't have killed him, and only the second one would have.

"OBJECTION!"

That last objection was much louder and clearer than usual, with another loud fist bang on the wall that accompanied it. This time, it came from Klavier himself. A long silence took place before the prosecutor finally said a word.

There was something fishy about all that.

"…Finally," Klavier simply said. The silence surrounding the courtroom was so quiet even Klavier's soft words were being perfectly heard by everyone in the gallery. "You just couldn't resist, could you, Herr Wright?"

Mr. Wright suddenly tensed at Klavier's statement and wondered if his own evidence was a trap set by someone. After all, he got ahold of the evidence in the last minute by an unknown source. Nevertheless, the man kept his cool, he had a title to protect!

"…Resist what?" the defense attorney started, stunned by the provocation begun by the young prosecutor. "Presenting solid evidence?"

Klavier ignored the defense comment and turned to the judge, nearly begging for his plea. "…Herr Judge?"

There was no need to have an extra sixth sense to see the surprise in the judge's eyes for this sudden change of mood in the trial. "Y-Yes, Prosecutor Gavin?" the judge asked, stunned.

"Might I request we put the current cross-examination on hold?" Klavier requested, seemingly sure of what he had to do. "The prosecution would like to call a new witness."

The judge wanted to protest, almost wishing that Mr. Wright's evidence was too solid to be truth, and, oddly, the defense didn't seem to flinch at the prosecution's reaction. However, the older lawyer's expression remained dull, as if he was afraid of what may come.

"B-But, Prosecutor Gavin!" the old judge objected. "This evidence overturns the current witness's…"

But Klavier interrupted him. "…I ask only to put it on hold! Please. My new witness has a very, very important piece of testimony to give."

"…Five minutes. No more. I promise… Your Honor."

From the gallery, Apollo couldn't help but intensely gaze at his prosecutor friend. There was really something off about Klavier today, and he tried to pick up something with his sixth sense. Nothing came out, and this annoyed him to no end. He thought that might be because it was Klavier's very first trial that everything took a turn to the weirder, but… this couldn't be. Klavier was not the begging type of individual, and there he was, appearing to beg for a win, or something. The boy could not tell.

The judge turned to the defense and, strangely, he agreed to the prosecution's request, because sooner or later, the witness will show up to, maybe overturning everything that had been discussed so far.

Then Apollo felt it, the tension from his bracelet tightening against his wrist while he brought his attention back to the defense attorney, the one who inspired him to become one himself.

Phoenix Wright might be hiding something.

Soon enough, after few words exchanges between the men of law, a request was made for everyone in the court, save for the defense, prosecutor, the judge and the new witness, to step down from their seats and exit the courtroom. There was a small uproar and protest from the audience, but the bailiffs managed to calm them down. One came toward Apollo and ordered him to wake his friend and his sister up to which the boy complied with a grumpy expression. He wanted to see the rest of Klavier's performance and he wanted to know the truth!

Later, the bailiffs let everyone know about the judiciary deal made to the witness so their identity remained a secret to the greater public.

When everyone from the gallery were shoved out from the courtroom, confusion could be read on everyone's face. Everyone was interested on who exactly was the witness and the reason they were thrown out by the court. Trucy looked up to her older brother, yawning then scrubbing her sleepy eyes, firmly holding his hands. Clay mumbled few incoherent words before he finally spoke clearer sentences. "Hey!" the black haired teen exclaimed to his brunette friend. "What happened? Why did the security guys kick us out like that? The trial didn't seem to have ended yet!"

Apollo crossed his arms, his brows furrowed into annoyance. "I don't know!" the smaller teen replied. "But, I felt something off from Klavier and that Mr. Wright, and we need to find out! I mean, everyone deserves to know the truth!"

"Yeah, but the justice system isn't so just, you know…" Clay commented, almost sadly. "Maybe you can ask Klavier after the trial."

The brunette let a small chuckle escape on these simplistic words from his friend. "I wish it was that easy, Clay. But, it's as you say, the justice system isn't simple, and if that "judiciary deal" was made between the new witness and the court, then Klavier is not supposed to speak about it to the mass, and that includes his own friends and family."

"That's too bad!" Clay blurted out, disappointed.

And too bad, indeed. Later that day, Apollo tried asking Klavier what exactly happened during the trial at the end, but he refused to speak about it. It was against his own deal. The frustration went even worse when Klavier still refused to tell him if he even won or lost the trial.

It was only later that night, on the news, that he learned about Mr. Wright's penalty and probable disbarment from the defense legislation for presenting illegal evidence. Since the defendant actually disappeared without a trace, there was no "win" or even "lost" for the verdict. Klavier, nor Mr. Wright, had won the trial. And Klavier didn't mind.

"At least we know the truth." Mr. Gavin, the mentor, of course, told his protégé, and this time, even his angelic voice was unable to sooth his mind. "Mr. Wright was nothing more than a forger. Maybe that's what it takes for a famous defense attorney to build up fame? Who knows?"

Apollo went silent on these words. He did not believe it. He could see the remaining passion shining in the defense's eyes in that trial, and there was a truth out there that needed to be known. Commoners like him had the right to know everything. Seeing the worry hunting in his pupil, Mr. Gavin spurted out a soft giggle.

"Justice, don't worry about it," the older man declared. "There is corruption everywhere in this world, even from the most saint of the saints, it can't be helped."

"Everyone has a darkness in their heart, from the most innocent children to the most angelic, loving mothers."

"However, I believe you'll be the least corrupted of them all. You'll be a great defense attorney."

"And, who knows, maybe you'll even go against my dearest brother, one day."


	8. A Research for Darkness

_Upon realizing that I couldn't use the Gramaryes for the trial on the previous chapter, I had to use other magicians, but it's basically the same trial, lol._

_Also, it appears to be canon that the Gavins aren't German according to an employee of Capcom. There's also a spoiler for AAI2 at the end, but nothing too revealing since it's an obvious spoiler._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 7: A Research for Darkness**

Date: September 25th 2020, 7:51 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Living Room

"Ever since you got these two kids under your wings, it's a rare sight to see you alone in your residence, Kristoph brüder. Where did they go?"

"Klavier, stop randomly spurting German words. You're not even German. Because of you, Apollo and Trucy think I'm from Germany and now Trucy is trying to learn the language."

Klavier chuckled. "Ja, it can't be helped, thanks to my old pals from Germany!"

"Heh heh, you never change, brother. And to answer your question, Trucy has gone performing to the Wonder Bar, with Justice and Terran watching over her. You never know when those creatures of the night might come out on her way back home."

"That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you. Is Herr Terran a good hunter?"

Indeed, Clay was the newest addition to the hunting firm, insisting on learning the way of the job with his best friend.

"Terran's not a bad hunter, but he's definitely calmer than his friend. Of course, Justice will always have the upper hand with his so called 'sixth sense'."

Ever since the younger Gavin brother became a famed prosecutor and the lead of his own famous music band, Kristoph rarely got a visit from him, and somehow, he missed his presence. Having his own successful band had to put his hunting job on hold and his hunting skills had been rusted ever since.

"Speaking of Herr Justice," Klavier asked. "How far is he in his law studies?"

A silence only came as Kristoph held his pair of glass and took a little bit of time to clean them. The older brother finally spoke. "Justice isn't skilled with the law as you. He's still learning and he does his best. However, since your first trial last year, he had been slowing down. He might not be accomplished enough to go to the famed Themis Legal Academy, but I see no problem if he wishes for the Ivy university."

Klavier let out a relieving sigh. "That's good to hear," the younger one murmured, smiling at the good news. "That reminds me," he suddenly went a little more enthusiastically. "Since you are a hunter, a co-worker of mine at the prosecutor office got an interesting gossip for you and many hunters."

This suddenly peaked Kristoph's interest. Anything concerning his own job, especially if it was lucrative news, was always good news. "Let's hear it!" the hunter exclaimed.

"Herr Blackquill has always been a good prosecutor with psychology on his side, and he's also studying under a famed psychologist from the Space Center."

Upon mentioning the Space center, a small grin appeared on Kristoph's lips. This was a place Clay often visited with his protégé, and whenever they came back from the center, Apollo would be speaking of space for what seemed like forever. Maybe Apollo should go for a space scientist career in his later life instead.

Klavier continued. "Apparently, his mentor is also known, between her little group of scientists, as an expert in the psychology of both humans and vampires."

For some reason, there was a sudden cold chill on Kristoph's entire being upon hearing the word "vampire", and even Klavier noticed the tension from his older. "Is something the matter, brüder?"

Once again, the older man quickly grabbed his glasses to wipe the tiny fragment of filth that might have gotten on them. "No, continue," the man simply answered, still staring at his glasses, now with his usual, angelic calm.

"All right," Klavier hesitantly responded, but his tone went higher and a little more jovial. "The psychologist is also a skillful pharmacologist and she managed to create a medication that could revolutionize this world!"

"A medication to calm down vampires!"

And yet again, this gave another jolt of chill to Kristoph who appeared stunned by the revelation. "Enlighten me about it, Klavier," the older man bluntly spitted out.

"Well, as a hunter, you probably know about vampires, that they attack on humans to feed on their blood. You know, they only seem to attack us to feed, but they can remain tame if they are not hungry according to Herr Blackquill's mentor."

Klavier wanted to see his older brother's reaction to the news, but the other one did not appear too pleased. "I… know that." Kristoph revealed.

"The pharmacologist's medication will actually suppress the instinctive behavior of a vampire by reducing their sense of smell and taste by almost 100%, giving them all the nutrients needed for them to survive. The medication will also allow them to wander on day time, though at a much lower freedom than normal humans since the sun light can still burn their skin, but with a simple sunscreen, this can be remedied."

"Because the vampires cannot feel the hunger and they get everything they need from their medication, they could hypothetically live among humans like normal people!"

"If we give those medications to vampires around the world, we won't need to hunt for them anymore, and the world will be a much safer place for humanity!"

"Wouldn't that be awesome, ja?"

When his brother finished his comments, Kristoph was unable to think logically. So many information in so little time. Yet, the only thing that came to his mind was that… if the gossip that ran along his brother and his prosecutor friend was to come true in their world, his hunting firm and his livelihood will be lost.

Forever.

"Y-Yes, this is quite the good news," Kristoph could only mutter.

"Indeed," Klavier went along with him. "Though, I don't think this can happen any time soon, since vampires are still a controversy in this world, but, who knows? Your hunting firm's still safe, at least!"

Or maybe not.

At least from Kristoph's point of view.

* * *

Date: October 3st 2020, 1:36 PM  
Place: Cosmos Space Center, Robotic Laboratory

"How do you feel, Aura?" Athena gently asked her "aunt" when she sat beside her, her short legs unable to touch the ground, waving back and forth aimlessly in the air.

"Ready to take over the world, little girl!" the purple haired woman grinned at the small girl, her fist pumping enthusiastically up toward the ceiling. "Your mother's medic does a good thing on me!"

The young girl laughed at her aunt cheerfulness. "Even if I don't hear your heart, I can feel your happiness!" Athena revealed with a smile. "I've never been so glad that you are my mom's partner!"

"Partner, indeed, but also her test subject," Aura added, a bit on the teasing side. "And I've never been so glad for it either."

It had been about a year and half since the biting accident, but that unfortunate event had not been vain for Metis. Thanks to it, she was able to use her own friend as a part of her experiments for her medication researches. Aura was glad to make use of her curse for Metis to create a better place to live for both humans and vampires, and she truly hoped that one day, she will be able to reveal herself to the world as one of "them". When people put more thought into it, they should at least realize that all vampires were once humans on their previous lives.

The luck had always been on Aura's side when she was wondering what her new life would be like if she had never met Metis before. Would she leave the space center every nights to hunt for wild animals to keep her humanity and sanity intact, or would she have succumbed to the predatory instincts and hunt for something humanly? Either way, there was no way she'd choose one of these. Metis's researches were simply her lifesaver.

Those medications became a gossip subject among the Space center employees, and many of them seemed to approve the research. After all, it was not too uncommon to see people among the mass who knew loved ones who felt in the hell of the night life and wished to see them back in a normal existence.

Aura looked up to the window. It was a cloudy day so the sun didn't bother her. Athena stood beside her and started humming heartily. The older woman smiled at her.

"Athena," Aura called. Her voice was sad but composed. "Tell me the truth. Does Simon know about my… current state?"

To answer her question, Athena simply nodded, keeping up with her silly hum, and this time, she waved her body left and right to go along with her little song. "Nope, never told him anything." Upon finishing her reply, the girl stopped her little act and returned her stare to the woman. Her eyes shined in pity. "Why are you afraid your brother knows about it?"

"He's a hunter, a vampire hunter," Aura bluntly replied.

The small girl protested with a hint of compassion. "But he's your little brother!" Athena silently shouted out. "He wouldn't hurt his sister! I mean, if I had a sibling, I'd never hurt him or her! And Simon only hurt bad vampires, so he can't hurt you!"

A gloomy laugh escaped the woman's lips, followed by a long sigh. "Athena, if only life was that simple, I'd told him since the beginning."

* * *

Humbly standing on his so called "galactic" Segway, the Director of the space center, the "great" Yuri Cosmos, carefully listened, in private at her request, to Metis's fruitful researches on the psychology of vampires and her researches for medications to tame them. They came in few types, depending on their level of fierceness. To Metis's satisfaction, the director appeared to be pleased with her researches and the man was ready to speak to the government about this project. However, there will be a need of test subjects, and to do so, they'd need to capture few of "them".

"Director," Metis proudly began. "I need to tell you this before we can proceed to find test subjects, but there's already one among the space center employees."

"W-What?" Director Cosmos exclaimed, firmly holding his cap which was falling by his sudden surprised jump. "I-Impossible! A vampire among my men? How is that even possible? Dare to tell me if all of this is true? I need to meet this mystery vampire living among us at once!"

"I would like to introduce you to them, but you know them already. However, I made a plea to make sure to not reveal their identity to anyone until the project is publically known."

"W-Well, is that so? Let it be, then! But unfortunately, we still need more conclusive results before I can even speak of it to the higher ups! Should you get help from, let's say, few skilled hunters, then we shall look forward it!"

Metis was grateful to see Director Cosmos on her side, but she really hoped it was possible for her to reveal the identity of the said vampire now. However, her more humane side demanded to keep her mouth shut about it.

She told herself to let Simon know of her eventual request for some vampire hunting. He'd need to keep them alive for her experiments.

* * *

Date: October 5th 2020, 7:15 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Dining Room

"Huh, what?"

The sudden question Apollo asked, his mouth still full of his takeout food while eyeing his mentor, left a modest giggle emerge from Mr. Gavin. Trucy felt like laughing silently at the scene.

"That's right," the older man declared. "I'm taking a one week vacation."

The teenager still couldn't mutter a single word, though there were many questions to ask about his mentor's sudden decision to take a vacation out of the blue. And during the month of October? There weren't even any holidays on that month, save for Halloween, but that didn't really count.

Trucy wanted to interfere. "Mr. Gavin!" she called with an expression filled with disappointment. "I wanna go on vacation too!"

The little girl's statement prompted another laugh from the blond man before he softly patted on her hair. "That's unfortunate, little Trucy. This is going to be a personal journey of mine. I'm going to meet a woman, and I want this little time between her and I together, alone."

Apollo couldn't help himself and he started laughing at the man. Now that he thought about it, Mr. Gavin was definitely not the ugly type of man, not to mention his charming ways of speaking, almost poetically. Even his soothing demeanor with strangers and acquaintance alike attracted many. How the man was still single remained a mystery, until now, that's it. At first, he thought he might have been a true asexual, being attracted to no one, so this sudden "vacation" proved him the opposite of what he thought. Well, not quite the "opposite", but certainly something unexpected to him.

"Soooo… Who's the lucky girl?" the teen questioned in a very uncivil manner.

"That's none of your concern, Justice." The reply was blunt but effective since the two siblings nearly fell down from their chair from the shocked, strict reply. Mr. Gavin took notice of the siblings' discomfort, so he let out his usual heartening smile to appease them down. "Someone spoke of her to me, and that's why I need to meet her, simple as that. If this works out, then maybe you'll see this 'lucky girl'."

The boy went thoughtful about it. Never had Mr. Gavin taken a vacation, and the whole situation appeared too fishy to him.

But once again, he couldn't find any tell, nor his bracelet reacted.

Sometimes, he wondered if he relied too much on the additional sense given by his mother.

"How long are you going, Mr. Gavin?" Apollo asked, curiously.

"A whole week," the man answered, still smiling. "I know this is a sudden decision, but I believe in your skills as a big, protective brother for Trucy while I'm gone. I must also request you to keep an eye on Vongole. She's still young for her canine years, and it will sadden me if no proper care is taken for her."

The young teen returned to his mentor curled up lips with his answer. "Hey, no problem, sir! I'd do all these things even if you haven't told me already!"

"That's good to hear!" Mr. Gavin exclaimed with a higher enthusiasm, a rare sight. As he turned and walked away to the entrance door, he waved a hand to the siblings. "Justice, Trucy, I bid you farewell for now. See you in a week."

Soon after the door shut itself with a clicking sound, the two siblings emptily stared at the door, remaining silent for a good dozen of seconds. "Polly! Do you think we'll see a new girl here?" Trucy finally broke the silence with her little question.

"I don't know, Truce," Apollo answered, not so hungry anymore. "Mr. Gavin's always mysterious in these times."

"Oh, but you know what?" the girl suggested with a slight sum of hope. "I think a new girl here will be fun! I'm always the only girl! I mean, Clay and Klavier are fun, but Klavier never comes anymore since he's a prosecutor, and Clay, well, he's a guy!"

"Heh, don't forget Vongole!" the teen teased.

"I know, I know! But I can't speak and understand doggy, Mr. Obvious!"

* * *

Date: October 7th 2020, 1:56 PM  
Place: Cosmos Space Center, Personal Cykes Lounge

As generic as it looked, Athena never realized how drawing was a relief for her lonely soul. Whenever she felt depressed or just sad for no apparent reason, Simon told her to draw anything that came to her mind, and there she was, holding another "beautiful" masterpiece she just did in her small lounge! And of course, she needed to show this to her mother! She would always compliment on her artistic works, but she didn't really appreciate when she started on-going with her psychologist analyst on her drawings.

But it didn't really matter; at least she got to interact with her.

Today she just finished a drawing of her mother, Aura, Ponco and Clonco, the latest one being the new addition in her little family and the little brother of Ponco. She wanted to add Simon and herself on the paper, but she miscalculated the space on the page and thus there were no remaining place to add more people. This saddened her, but she did her everything to make it the best looking piece of work she ever did. She thought to herself that maybe she could become an artist as she grew up!

But somehow, from her room, she heard a piercing cry, a frightened scream. This prompted her heartbeat to fasten, and she suddenly became scared. However, she gathered all of her courage to face what may come, and she opened the sliding door to the Robotic lab.

To her astonishment, she could see two people: one on the ground, and one who stood up, seemingly looking at the fallen one. The rested one had their face covered. The one above was a masked man and she could see his long blond hair behind his mask.

There was no heartbeat from the two people.

The one on the ground was… her own mother. A cover of blood soaked her clothes over her entire chest, and the smell of the red substance emanated in the whole room. The intense aroma of the blood seemed to have brought a heavy pant from the man who stood in front of her, his hand firmly holding a filthy katana and with another hand trying to cover his nose….

…to his failure since he was wearing a ghostly, creepy mask. Obviously, he was trying to not succumb to his hunger.

Athena couldn't move. The only movements she was able to make out were opening her hands, dropping her now forgotten masterpiece which directly landed on the pool of red substance beside her limp mother. Her body shook in fear; her trembling lips were trying to shout something, but no words came out. She couldn't control herself and the only thoughts that invaded her confused mind was that the man with no pulse hurt her mother, and he needed to pay.

In the jolt of the moment, she snagged a knife from her mother's tool box and she let her hands, confidently holding the weapon, control themselves to make a dive toward the masked man. The mysterious one ducked her slash, but Athena refused to give up. She couldn't stop here, she had to fight the man and not be afraid. She went for another try.

And this time, her weapon reached the man's right hand.

A loud scream with a mix of terrifying roars escaped the man's mouth as blood flowed like a drain, and in a frightening, bestial fury, he violently shoved the little girl to hit the table, to which Athena lost her consciousness.

Upon realizing what had just happened, now safe from being seen, the man tossed the weapon aside. He quickly gripped some clothes to cover his bleeding hand and he let out a relieving sigh. When the bleeding had slowed down, his mind finally quieted down to search what he was looking for.

Dr. Cykes's notebook stood on one of the tables, the one with the title of "A Medication to Help Vampires".

Underneath his mask, a satisfying grin appeared on his face.

* * *

She couldn't have dozed off for a long time, hadn't she? She slowly rubbed her eyes, and to her shock, she could smell a small fire somewhere. A fire? Impossible! Why didn't the extinguisher system ever activate?

Then it suddenly hit her that her aunt Aura had deactivated the system for their lab solely since they used fire a lot. Was her mother experimenting on something?

Wait. Her mother.

She raised herself to her knees. Her own clothes were soiled with blood, and her mother was sleeping beside her. Except, once again, there was no heartbeat.

"… Mom?" Athena muttered, sorrowfully. "Is something wrong?"

But the woman would not answer.

"Are… you sick?" the girl asked, now worried. "Do… you need some repair?"

Then she remembered the machine Aura made to easily repair her friends, Ponco and Clonco, and another idea hit her. If her mother was sick and hurt, then there was probably the best way to repair her mother!

Upon seeing the sad little girl, someone spoke to her.

"Athena!" a happy, childish, robotic voice called her out behind her. "Do you need help?"

Athena turned to her and found her little friend, Ponco. The girl had never been so glad to find her small, metallic friend around here. "Ponco!" Athena called, relieved. "I need your help, I can't raise Mom… Can you help me?"

The little robot lifted up her hands in the air with joy, glad to be able to help her human friend. "Yay! I'll be helpful! But where is your Mommy Metis?"

From the silly question, Athena raised an eyebrow. "What?" Athena retorted sadly. "But she's just over there, beside me…"

"Oh!" Ponco exclaimed when her "eyes" were glancing at the motionless, bloodied body on the ground. She then proceeded to raise the dead body in her arms. "Where do you need me to put it?"

"Let's put her on the operating table, so we can repair her!"

* * *

Dr. Cykes's request was nothing but sudden to Simon, but he was glad there were no cases assigned to him today. Any request from his mentor was a good one, and he hoped the one she'll ask him will be a challenging one. She never told him any details, and this got him quite curious about it.

On his way to the lab, he could have sworn the scent of fire smoke was getting stronger. He knew his sister conducted few explosive experiments sometimes, but to smell it from that far, especially between these hermetic doors and these soundproof walls, he wondered if the smell came from somewhere else.

But when he reached the front door of the robotic lab, the smell of fire had gotten much, much stronger, though he couldn't feel any heat emanating from the place. Maybe the fire had been extinguished already. He used his own card to open the locked door.

And he wished he had never opened it.

The gruesome spectacle that awaited him was worse than his most frightening nightmare. His stare was stuck on the so called "operation table", where… his own inert mentor, was laid down in the middle of it all, the blood covering her chest, and the robotic arms were ready to reach the bloodied body.

Beside her stood the little girl, Athena Cykes, her clothes soaked with dark red, her pitied eyes watching her mother as the machines were trying to "repair" her. Upon noticing her friend in the room, she smiled and told him in such sweet, innocent voice those fearsome words which rendered Simon frozen with terror.

"Something's wrong with Mommy, so I'm taking her apart to fix her…"

* * *

Date: October 7th 2020, 9:31 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Living Room

Being alone at home without the presence of an older adult in the middle of the week encouraged Apollo to get himself to have a late sleepover, even if tomorrow morning was a school day. He thought to himself he will be able to deal with this since he's pretty much an adult now, though still not "legal" by the law, but old enough to make brighter decisions. And today, he told himself he'd enjoy a feast of potato chips while watching boring shows on the TV, because there was never anything interesting on a Wednesday night.

Well, if there was nothing to watch, maybe he better watched the news. He never knew what kind of new stories could pop out from which he could gossip about at school.

Just when he changed the channel, he heard few soft steps behind the sofa. He turned to the sound to see Trucy half-asleep still in her pajamas, and the girl appeared quite grumpy.

"Polly…" she angrily whispered to her brother. "When you eat your chips, it keeps me awake."

That was it? And there he thought she'd complained about the louder TV sounds because no one ever watch TV at this time in the middle of the week under Mr. Gavin's roof. She had to complain about the noise made when he devoured the fried, round and thin potatoes. Since when did his little sister have a very awesome hearing sense?

Grumbling about his sister's statement, he tossed the bowl of chips aside. "Heh, all right, Truce, just for you, I'll stop eating," Apollo grumpily responded.

In the end, Trucy plunged into a sadder emotion for no apparent reason. "Can I watch TV with you?" the girl suddenly asked, reaching for her brother's hands and almost hugging them to pull him closer.

Surprised, Apollo slightly retreated his head behind with disbelief. "Huh, why?" the teen asked in dismay. He childishly wanted to be alone for once.

"I… also had a nightmare before you ate your chips…" Trucy revealed with a low, sad tone. "I dreamed that Mr. Gavin and Clay were vampires and they tried to eat me. You tried to protect me, but they bit you and then… then… they made you a vampire too! And then you wanted me to be a vampire too!"

He didn't know how to answer his little sister. Encouragement words might be needed in such case, but he wasn't so sure. It was not like he had been changed into a vampire, or his friends were being ones either.

Although the revelation of her dream prompted him to rethink about the dangers of working at night against those creatures, he wanted to reassure her that this will never happen, or at least he hoped so. Trying to copy his mentor's angelic smile, he gave her a soft pat on the head.

"Hey, Truce," he started, trying to sound gentle as he could. "Clay won't be a vampire, Mr. Gavin won't be a vampire, and I won't be a vampire! And I can assure you, and I promise, that I'll never let you become a vampire."

Apollo was glad his words successfully soothed little Trucy, and she pulled his hand closer to her crying eyes. "You… promise?" the girl childishly asked, her piercing eyes staring straight into his.

"I promise," the teen repeated.

Her mood suddenly shifted to a much happier state of mind. "Yay!" she exclaimed, releasing his hand and sitting beside her older brother on the couch. "So let's watch TV together!"

"W-What?" was the only thing Apollo could mutter when his sister got even closer to him. He pondered if the nightmare part of her little story was just made up so she could sit beside him. "Wait!" he continued, shocked by her little behavior. "I never said you could watch TV with me! You've got school tomorrow, so you should be asleep already!"

The little girl protested along with him. "But you have school tomorrow too, Polly! Don't play dumb games with me!"

A sigh of exasperation came out from Apollo's tired mouth because he knew Trucy was right. How could a sixteen years old young man lose against a nine years old girl? "All right then," the teen admitted defeat. "But only for tonight, okay?"

A joy hit the girl when she readied herself to have a late sleepover and watch TV with her brother, until she noticed it was the news channel. Suddenly, her enthusiasm died out quickly like the wind. She noticed Apollo hid the remote, preventing her from changing the channel.

Why, oh why did grownups love the news so much, she thought to herself.

Nothing came out of the ordinary, as usual. The anchorman blurted out more boring words from his mouth, speaking of news about financial statistics, more and more generic fraud criminals and stuff like that. Soon enough, there were some advertisements that last for about five minutes. She wondered why the advertisements kept getting longer and longer as the years went by.

Then a news came out, one that would peak Apollo and Trucy's interest.

A murder at the Space Center.

"Polly, isn't this the space center you often go with Clay?" Trucy asked, pointing at the center picture that appeared on the TV screen.

"Hey, you're right!" Apollo exclaimed. "I wonder what happened there."

Apparently, Dr. Metis Cykes, a renowned psychologist and pharmacologist of the Space Center, had been murdered. A young man had been apprehended; the famous prosecutor Simon Blackquill who had been studying psychology under the victim. No words on the motive for the murder, but rumors told the mass that the prosecutor's motive might be related to Metis's research on the psychology of vampires which was found burning in the trash can. Only the cover of the notebook remained readable.

It was also mentioned that Mrs. Cykes's daughter and her coworker, Mr. Blackquill's sister, had been claiming his innocence and a trial will be conducted to determine his guilt or innocence. Yet, the man still maintained his guilt, claiming that he had enjoyed the murder of his mentor at his hands.

From past trials he had observed, Apollo knew when accused people claimed their guilt, it didn't always mean a true guilt. Seeing two close people to the prosecutor, including the own daughter of the victim, claiming his innocence, there was a chance they might have been telling the truth.

Confused about the event, the teen passed a hand through his hair, leaving out a sigh. How was it possible to see two men of law being convicted of corruption and murder within a year? Well, a little more than a year, but still… He heard about another prosecutor few years ago who had lost his badge and his freedom when he was convicted for the murder of a defense attorney. There was also a story of the chief of the district police who killed a prosecutor for his own plan. Words were also told about stories of corruption among higher ups between an important man in the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee and two more central individuals.

He remembered Mr. Gavin's words last year, just after Klavier's first trial; that corruption was everywhere among men and women. He didn't expect corruption to be everywhere among virtually everyone in the law!

This fact alone saddened him a little since he wished to be part of the law too.

He really hoped he could work this out when he'll be a defense attorney! If only this will allow him to find the truth for people like Mr. Wright and Mr. Blackquill…


	9. Deeper in the Darkness

_As always, this chapter is supposed to be part of the previous chapter… I'm also not sure to understand the school grade system for high schools in the US or Japan. Let's say Japanifornia's system is the same as where I'm from, where people normally graduate from high school on their 17__th__ year of life (or 16 or 18 depending if they were born close to the first school date or not)._

_Also thanks Shimmering-Sky for the review, fav and following! If you spot any English mistake, don't be shy to mention them! :)_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 8: Deeper in the Darkness**

Date: October 11th 2020, 8:06 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Siblings' Bedroom

Because he had an exam tomorrow morning, Apollo did everything to sleep earlier than usual. He was so much grateful that Trucy was already fast asleep on her bed since he still shared the room with her. That way, he wouldn't be bothered by her in his attempt to drift away in the dream world. He better be in top shape for his important exam since he used up all the weekend to study, for once.

However, he never thought that a tiny click from the entrance door could be so loud in a silent time like tonight. While this left him a grumpy expression on his face, he knew exactly who was coming, so he decided to get up slowly and quietly as possible (so he didn't wake his sister up) to welcome the man who had just arrived in the residence.

"Mr. Gavin!" Apollo called, closing the door behind him, his voice loud enough to be heard but quiet enough to leave his sleeping sister in her current state.

"Well, well, if this isn't Justice!" Mr. Gavin retorted back, glad to be back home. "Already in your pajamas? How unusual from you!"

The teen stretched his arms high with a yawn before he answered. "Well, there's a huge exam tomorrow, so I planned to sleep a little earlier."

"Then why aren't you sleeping yet?"

"The click when you put the key in the lock woke me up."

"Oh…"

An awkward silence took place, leaving both men staring at the floor with a stroppy gulp, until Apollo broke the peace.

"Hey sir, might as well stay up a little later so you can tell me about your vacation!"

The sudden demand appeared to be so enthusiast that Mr. Gavin was unable to refuse speaking about it, but he'd rather remain secretive about his personal life. After all, no one ever needed to know about it. When both men were comfortably sitting on the couch, the first thing that stood out from Mr. Gavin was the unusual bandage he was wearing on his right hand. Apollo was clever enough to know these white stripes weren't a fashion thing. If anything he had learned ever since he lived in this condo, beginning five long years ago, it was that Mr. Gavin was a really fashioned man who took very much care of his appearance. He put so much attention into it that he went so far as using polish nails. Polish nails, for god's sake! Even his fashioned little fop brother never used polish nail.

"What happened to your hand?" Apollo questioned, pointing at his bandaged hand.

"Oh, this was a mere injury when meeting the girl," Mr. Gavin calmly replied.

"That must have been a pretty bad injury to have that much bandage!"

There was another silence, and the teen guessed the man simply didn't want to speak about it. Was that an accident? Or maybe the girl he met was a crazy, murderous one? He'll probably never know… unless he asked. "How was the girl anyway? Did it work out?"

Apollo swore he heard a dry chuckle escape the man's lips.

"No," was the only answer he got, and the teen nodded in defeat.

"Man, that's boring!" the young man exclaimed, moving his bended fingers through his hair with a long breath. "Girls can be tough! That reminds me of that girl who had a crush on Clay at school, and then-"

"Justice," Mr. Gavin bluntly interrupted. The man was greeted by quietness from the boy who glanced straight in his eyes, his piercing maroon pupils shining with curiosity of what comment may come from his mentor. "What's the subject of your exam tomorrow?"

The boy sighed in disappointment. He was expecting more stories from Mr. Gavin, but decidedly, he really, really didn't want to speak more of it. "Literature," Apollo replied, biting his lips at the answer. "Not my favorite subject, to tell the truth. I had to read a novel, but I really didn't like it."

"Then, for your sanity tomorrow morning, you should go sleep now."

Upon getting the comment that sounded like an order, Apollo embarrassingly grinned at his mentor and went back to his room, leaving him a quiet "Good night, Mr. Gavin," for him to enjoy, maybe.

Mr. Gavin smiled when his protégé disappeared behind the door. Such an obedient kid even at the pinnacle of the rebellion age, he thought, never questioning of his mentor's actions or past, with his little sister following his path.

How well did he choose his own disciples!

* * *

Date: October 23th 2020, 12:39 AM  
Place: Cosmos Space Center, Robotic Laboratory

It had been more than two weeks since Metis's murder, and time had never been so dark in the center. The air felt so heavy, the ambiance so hot, and the dark night appeared like hell. She couldn't bear to watch the robot companion that accompanied her in her complete madness as she was starting to pant like an animal, her teeth gritting in terror at the fear of falling into utter insanity. A faint growl escaped her chords when she grabbed the sides of her head with her sturdy hands, nearly wanting to perforate her skull, thinking life wasn't worth living anymore, especially not for an eternity.

In spite of the instincts she was trying to control the best she could, Aura finally took ahold of her cherished treasure: a small picture of her late co-worker Metis… No, lover, even as a one-sided love… Taken by the sudden, strong humane emotions when staring at the picture, she pulled the frame closer to her heart. While the act appeased her mind a little, she almost wanted to violently clench at the frame to throw it away to the nearest person when she realized the pulses of her heart were no more.

Aura did everything to keep her instincts under control ever since the death of her love. She felt so disgusted, having to force herself to run out every nights to hunt for food in the nearby woods, usually some small mammals and sometimes birds. To satisfy her hunger, she had no choice. Yet, the surprise overtook her when she realized the blood of the animals wasn't so bad. A part of her wondered what human blood actually tasted like, but…

No! There was no way she'd think like that! She had to keep going with the animals, or else, she'll lose her humanity forever! After all, hunting for animal wasn't too bothersome. In her old human life, like virtually everyone else, she ate the meat of animals, and no way this was seen as a controversy. That meant there was no way drinking the blood of animals could be seen as a controversy either, right?

If only Metis was still alive… Or if only her researches were still intact somewhere, but no, the murderer had to burn her complete research and steal the medications she made.

The murderer… That princess…

Her brother was covering for her sake, and she knew it.

Where was the princess anyway? Where had she gone? She completely disappeared after her dear little brother's trial, which ended in a guilty verdict. His execution had been scheduled on December 2027. Way to ruin someone's future Christmas holidays.

"Mama Aura! What's the matter?"

Aura turned to the voice whom she knew came from her little mechanic friend, Clonco. A sad emote was shown on "his" face, and to her horror, Aura knew that the "fake" robotic sadness was only a part of Metis's own genius, as if... as if… Clonco was Metis's own child. The only answer the robot companion could get was another faint, beastly snarl from the woman.

"Get… away from me, Hunk of junk…" the woman muttered. "Stop calling me Mama… Your two Mamas… died…"

How the robot could detect her while having no heartbeat was a mystery to her.

* * *

Date: June 24th 2021, 9:43 PM  
Place: Borscht Bowl Club, Dining Room

The scent of cold air and sweet, cheap liquor in the grand place froze his nostrils, which prompted him to tense with goosebumps all around himself. A faint stench of smoke filled the surrounding, and he was grateful ever since smoking had been abolished inside all public places in the country. Else, he thought he could have died from the awful odor if people were to some inside. Not that he could actually die from it, ever.

There was the man he wished to meet among all other low and pitiful drunk beings with their regressed minds, laughing and boasting about their lives and their success to their equally mindless friends. When his eyes turned to the special piano placed in the dining room, he finally found the man he was searching for, sitting in front of the majestic, wide instrument. Of course, the man was not playing it as requested by the customers. He laughed at the thought of hearing him play.

"Ah, Wright! Always a pleasure to meet you!" the man greeted the player who seemingly enjoy the company of the customers sitting close to him.

One of the customers protested at the name given to the "pianist". "Heh! That's Phoenix for you!" the customer shouted out.

However, the pianist, Phoenix Wright, ignored the customer's words and called his friend with a friendly hand. "Kristoph! It's good to see you in this… pathetic place. Not that kind of place where we'd see a humble man of your caliber wandering around. What's the reason for your visit today?"

Ever since that trial on the fateful day of April 19th 2019, Phoenix Wright and Kristoph Gavin had become good friends. The main reason for this friendship was due to Klavier's actions that led to the fall of the defense attorney's badge and grandiose reputation since the man felt a little bad for what his little brother did. Whenever both of them visited each other, they'd speak of their usual lives and their ways of hunting. Kristoph was surprised how Phoenix was actually an excellent hunter. At least, the ex-attorney felt grateful for keeping his hunting firm and license.

However, surprisingly, his best income came from his talent of Poker player which was his "secret" job in this old club. He was deemed the best player in the underground city, and anyone who'd get to defeat the "undefeatable" will win the jackpot. However, he had gone undefeated for so long people forgot when his first and only lost was.

Upon learning of Phoenix's true job in the club, Kristoph sometimes wondered if his two disciples' talent could come in handy to the ex-attorney. If they were to help him in his games, he'd probably go undefeated forever. While Apollo was much better than Trucy at finding the subtle, tensed tics from people, the boy had a much harder time hiding his own tension than his little sister. This made the girl the hypothetical, ideal partner for Phoenix.

And Phoenix looked like a Poker face expert.

"You don't always think I need a reason to visit a friend?" Kristoph answered his friend with his usual friendly smile.

Phoenix let out a little chuckle. "All right, come and sit, the grape juice's on me," the raven-haired man offered.

When they sat down on a freed table, Phoenix ordered a one liter of his so famous favorite grape juice. Kristoph had never taken it in the end, still pretending to not like grape, and he wondered if the grape juice was not, in reality, some vine. Yet, after smelling the thing, it really appeared to be grape juice in the end. How Phoenix was a big fan of this liquor was a wonder of this world.

"So, Wright, how's life going for you in these days?" Kristoph asked.

The ex-attorney took a long breath. "Everything's the same. I play, I hunt. My old friends come to visit sometimes, usually to clean my firm and my home, and we go to dinner somewhere."

"Ah yes. The heir to the Fey legacy and her little cousin, if I remember? Maya and Pearl?"

"You remember well, Kristoph. Maya has been pestering me to get together with my old girl Iris as soon as she get out from jail, thinking a new girl in my life might bring me back to the old, good time. But Pearls categorically refuses to see me with anyone else than her own cousin."

To this, a laugh got out from Phoenix's mouth.

"I've also been hunting a lot, but with these late shifts, this is getting a little harder to hunt for vampires. Sometimes I get no prime for two whole weeks!"

Thoughtful about it, Kristoph stroke his chin. "You have been unlucky indeed," the blond man added. "You might need to get new people under your wings, really."

Phoenix grinned at the words. Truthfully, he felt a little lonely. His life as an attorney taught him that working in team not only helped in his quest for the truth, but it also helped his moral. "That's… not a bad idea!" Phoenix sarcastically retorted. "Can you lend me one of your pupils?"

The blond man laughed back at his friend. "Sorry, Wright, my pupils are top notch hunters, proud to be part of the Gavin firm," Kristoph teasingly replied.

"Aww, c'mon Kristoph! Your pupils are barely even legal! Especially that one with the weird name… he still looks like a kid!"

The pianist man sighed in a slight exasperation. Kristoph appeared to have a lot of good company with his success as a private hunter, gaining quite a lot with the extra income thanks to his two assistants. "Now, now," Phoenix continued with a pause by taking another shot of his favorite drink before returning his attention to his friend. "Care to tell me what are you up to in these days?"

Surprisingly, a proud smile appeared on Kristoph's face at the question. "The usual," the angelic man answered. "Like you, I'm doing my job. I sometimes get a surprise visit from my brother."

"Ah, your fop brother," Phoenix disdainfully commented. "Apparently he'd been slowing down as a hunter and even as a prosecutor ever since the success of his band's second album."

Kristoph took no offense of his friend's reply. The older brother himself never really liked the music taste of Klavier's band, amicably called the Gavinners. "However, I'm more tempted to admit my pride has shifted toward my pupil Justice instead," Kristoph revealed, his lips curled up higher. "His talent as a hunter can even be compared to the most experienced hunters, and he's finally seriously studying law to follow your footstep, Wright. Even as of now, he's been officially admitted to the Ivy University and he'll start his first semester next August."

Upon learning of having a fanboy, Phoenix was unable to hide his tiny grin. "You've got… interesting kids under your wings." There was another pause before his next comment. "I hope he's not solely doing this to be a hero of the sort to his future clients."

The blond man exchanged another soft chuckle. "You could say so." Yet another awkward silence between the two reigned over them. "More like Justice wants to put his unusual skill in use to save people rather than only hunt for mindless night creatures."

"That's right, I remember you telling me about the siblings' skills for perceiving the truth from others' body language. Man, Kristoph, you should really lend them to me during bigger games!"

"However, if your pupil is all for being a defense attorney, I hope he knows about the dark side of the law, that not everything about the law is just. And unfortunately, the justice isn't for all."

"No pun intended, of course!"

Phoenix's laugh echoed through all the dining room, even drowning all the other customers' voices. In some way, this startled his friend a little bit. "I have faith in Justice, the boy, of course," Kristoph chuckled along, trying to avoid the name pun with no success. "He really is… incorruptible. But only the future shall let us know if time will be able to shape him with more vice or not."

The ex-attorney noticed the hint of pride and fear in his friend's voice, and somehow, he could sympathize along with him. The next generation of youngsters definitely needed to get in better shape to remodel this rotten world into a better place to live in.

"How about his little sister?" Phoenix asked, wondering why Kristoph would mostly speak of the older protégé instead of the younger one.

"Enigmar had been practicing her magic in secret, but from tricks she presented us so far, she's… quite talented, more than I thought. She often performs at the Wonder Bar during weekend's evenings, and Justice never misses a single show. Even if he doesn't want to, he always accompanies her since she still needs his protection. We never know when and where those spawns strike."

"From what I gathered, she dreams of continuing her family's magic legacy. The notary lawyer who stole their rights had been killed, so she's able to perform her family's tricks legally. Even if all of her surrounded acquaintances are hunters, she has no desire to become one, though she likes to accompany her brother into hunting sessions sometimes."

"Though her 'perceiving' skill isn't as great as her brother's, she's able to find the right time to focus without the use of a bracelet since she doesn't own one."

Attentively listening to his companion, Phoenix discretely turned his eyes to his glass, gently handling it with his hand before he took another mouthful of his juice. "You know," Phoenix began with a smirk, now staring at his friend intensely. "The way you speak about these two siblings, you really seem to like them like your own children. This doesn't look like you at all. You're going soft, Kristoph."

To that, Kristoph appeared to tense up, barely, but Phoenix didn't need any sixth sense to see through that.

"M-Maybe," the blond haired man muttered, straightforwardly.

* * *

Date: June 24th 2021, 9:45 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Roof

Nowadays, most of modern structures roofs were built with a type of glass protection, preventing vampires to attack people wandering on the top since many of these creatures were able to jump from roofs to roofs. The condo where they lived was, fortunately, part these modern buildings. Luckily, even under these glass walls and ceiling, the bright full moon shined with its full and pure majestic light, a rare spectacle to enjoy when darkness was always lurking around. Clay came to enjoy the beautiful sky view on the top of the condo along with his best friend Apollo and his little sister Trucy. This new summer night gave a clear view above, and school just ended wonderfully for all of the three.

While yesterday was a prom night among the students for their last high school year that ended… quite wrongly, this time, the two teen friends decided to have a more private time to celebrate the end of school, along with little Trucy. She too deserved to have a celebration of her own. This time, no beers, no drinks, no controverted girls to flatter them and definitely no douchebags to ruin their evening.

At the horrible thought, Apollo gently placed his palm on the black eye he got yesterday at the prom when a drunken classmate girl started flirting with him. Then her robust boyfriend had to intervene by giving him quite a punch on the face. Of course, a fight ensued between the two young men, only to get separated by Clay, thankfully.

Using their small, cheap barbecue to grill some marshmallows, the excitement hit Trucy when she got her perfect brown and crispy puffy candy on her stick. She gulped the thing like a hungry beast until she realized how hot the thing was and she started to gasp for water. Nervously, Clay promptly got a bottle of water and splashed the whole content on her face, and this somehow felt relieving for her. Apollo panicked until a wet Trucy began to laugh, her tongue still out of her mouth, forcefully panting for cold air. Now, confusion went through the brother's mind.

"Huff! It's okay, Polly! Huff… Huff… I'm fine now!" the girl cried, grinning with her teeth plastered together, the white and brown substances from the candy still scattered between her teeth.

"Heh, don't scare us like that!" Clay blurted out, smirking along with her.

Apollo simply didn't know how to continue their silly conversation, so he simply watched them in their shenanigans, holding his stick with another crispy marshmallow on the tip, ready to be eaten. When the mood finally settled down, Trucy sat down, her arms resting on her knees, looking serenely at the full moon that shined above their heads. "The moon is pretty today!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, isn't it?" Clay replied. "My dream is to go over there one day, and even beyond!"

"Well, you're going to study Space Engineering at the Ivy University on August?" Trucy asked. "That must be so awesome! I wish I knew anything about engineering and science and stuff!"

Smiling at his little sister enthusiasm, the older brother finally let himself slid into their chat. "Don't push yourself too much, Truce," Apollo recommended. "It's fun to know many things, but even I don't know anything about space engineering, and it's okay, because I focus on the law instead, and you should focus on your magic!"

Trucy moped at her brother's comment. "I know that!" she yelled. "But I mean, science is so… science! Like, knowledge! And magic… well, there's no magic major in the University! And science is the future! And your law, well… It's not too scientific and cool!"

A burst of laugh suddenly escaped Clay's mouth when he couldn't contain it any longer while Apollo made a teasing frown along his friend's reaction. Trucy was unable to help herself either and she went wild with her giggles too. "You know, buddy, your little sister's right as always!"

"Ha, ha, very funny, Mr. Terran," a sarcastic voice got out from Apollo's chords.

To make up for the mocking words, Trucy snapped out of it and went even more joyful than ever. "Well, it's cool you two are going to the same university!" she exclaimed. "I mean, I'm still far behind from you guys!"

Clay approached Trucy to give her a childish pat on her head with a comforting smile to accompany him before he finally turned to the moon, once again. While staring at the celestial body, he remained silent before letting out a restful sigh.

"Do you think… the departed are watching us from above?" the black haired young man unexpectedly suggested.

The silence that came after the question lasted for at least a dozen of seconds, and then Apollo, at last, stared at the moon with his friend, a serene smile forming on his lips. "That… was a sudden question, Clay," Apollo broke the silence. "But yes, Mom, Uncle Zak, Uncle Valant, my Grand-Pa, even the father I never met and your mom too. They are probably all watching for us."

The mood felt really cheesy to the two young men, but suddenly, something felt tight around Apollo's hip. Looking down upon himself, the older brother carefully watched after his younger sister gently wrapped her arms around him, slightly sobbing, her face clutched onto her brother's chest. "Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Valant…" Trucy hiccupped with some warm tears flowing on her reddened cheeks. "I… still remember them… I miss them…"

Speechless, Clay glanced at the two siblings when Apollo finally curled himself to his sister's level, his arms enveloping the petite stature of the girl, leaving few calming pats on her back.

"I miss them too, Truce…"


	10. A Rookie Star

_Start of another trial from another in-game trial! I split it in few parts or else it might have too many pages._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. __I also do not own the in-game scripts that can be found in this chapter__. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 9: A Rookie Star**

Date: November 10th 2025, 6:02 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Living Room

A soft knock was heard from the door entrance. Burying herself into the new world of the dramatic TV show that had just begun straight on the normal supper time, Trucy tried to ignored the knock, too much entitled to watch the entire thing until the end with no interruption. The first two minutes had been too much interesting to miss a single thing, but unfortunately, she could hear Vongole's whimpers above everything else. The golden retriever was impatiently standing straight up on all fours, her muzzle pointing at the door, not ever moving from her spot, waiting for the visitor to enter.

Trucy still refused to get up. After all, whomever was coming at this time of the day, especially on a boring Monday, must not be that important, right? Probably one of those door-to-door vendors offering some random services for random homes at random prices which she had no control over, and the master of the house, Mr. Gavin, was still asleep, as usual.

Another knock was heard, and this time, she silently cursed at the persistence of the one behind the door.

Wait.

She realized the TV terminal had a recording function.

To her fortune, after a nice but sore palm on her forehead, she quickly seized the remote control and pressed the recording button. Soon she bounced all the way to the door, leaving an "I'm coming!" shout.

After getting around Vongole that was practically directly parked in front of the door, Trucy gripped at the handle to unlock it and to open it slowly. A nice surprise awaited her.

Her older brother was behind the door, and before he even had the time to mutter a single word, both girls, human and furry alike, jumped on the young man whose eyes widened with astonishment.

"Polly!" Trucy cried to him while still holding him between her arms. "You should say something when you knock on the door, silly! And aside, I thought you had your own keys!"

Scratching the back of his head in a tiny embarrassment, Apollo proceeded to stroke the head of the golden retriever instead to release the stress that took over him in the instant. "Oh, sorry about that, Truce!" he uttered with a slight grin. "Actually, I was so nervous I forgot to lock the door before I went to my bar exam, and I also forgot my keys on the way!"

Trucy gasped at the answer. "Oh, that was why the door was unlocked when I came back from school! Bad Polly! We were lucky enough no baddies entered the place before I got here!"

The comment made the young man drop his head in shame. After leaving a long sigh, he let out another depressed "I'm sorry" remark.

"However," Apollo started with his newly came back chords of steel and a merrier smile. "I just need to get this off my chest for now!"

"I've passed the bar exam!"

A long exhalation struck the little sister upon learning of her brother's new achievement, and a huge, happy grin appeared on her face. She widely opened her arms high and quickly hopped on him to squeeze him by the neck. "Wow!" she yelled loudly with an obvious joy in her voice. "I'm so happy for you!"

When she finally let him go, Apollo nearly choked from the sudden released pressure in his lungs, prompting Trucy to teasingly laugh at him. "So, what was your final score?" she asked, patiently waiting for an answer.

Somehow, the question killed the joyful mood, and Apollo sank his head and arms with a sigh, yet again. Trucy felt a little disgraceful for asking; the answer might not be that pretty.

"Hum…" the young man murmured, looking to the ground, almost trying to avoid his sister's eyes. "Actually, I barely passed the minimum required score…"

"Oh…" was the only thing Trucy could mutter back before she went back into her usual enthusiast persona. "But hey! People don't care about grades! When a firm hires you, they won't ask for your grades, silly! The important thing is that you passed! So chin up, brother, and think big! You won't see many lawyers at the age of twenty-one!"

Apollo finally dared to gaze into Trucy's eyes, and this time, his stare was shining with hope. "Hey, actually, you're right!" he agreed. "As of today, I'm now a full pledged defense attorney! Wait until I tell this to everyone!"

"Anyone else knows yet?"

The man chuckled at the question. "No, I want you to know first, since you're my sister."

* * *

Date: April 18th 2026, 1:15 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Office Room

It was the usual story. A newly graduated student tried to find a job, and they were unable to find any. Debts were thrust into their face as they were trying to cover their college fees the best they could with the help of no one, maybe except from the banks that ripped of them with their yummy interests. Apollo felt like he was being shoved into the same situation. Sometimes, he was wondering if the field he chose was the right one, especially when his friend Clay was immediately welcomed with open arms in a paid internship in their famous Cosmos Space Center. A paid internship! How rare were these things?

Klavier had suggested him to open his own firm or to offer his service with something smaller, like a notary lawyer. However, the thought of being a notary lawyer disgusted him when he reminded himself of the cursed attorney who ruined his family legacy. The prosecutor even suggested taking few smaller cases, like marriage separation cases or suing cases. Definitely not the best, but they'd do for now… if only he could even get ahold of one of those cases, at least...

In the end, Mr. Gavin had decided to add lawyering services into his own firm which could, hopefully, make things easier. News among the night life told about the famous hunter Kristoph Gavin now offering services for defending. The way the news spread felt tasteless to Apollo, but as long as there were clients, there were people to save, and, of course, money to earn!

And, to his surprise, on the crucial day of April 17th 2026, he received a call from _him_, requesting his service for a murder case.

From _Phoenix Wright_.

Former Ace Attorney, a man of truth.

And today, on the 18th, his mind was still numb at the thought of defending THE Phoenix Wright, the famous ex-attorney. He was the one who managed to have a perfect defense record ever since he started, until the forging incident which Apollo had always believed to be a staged incident. Not only the man had been accused of forging evidence seven long years ago, but now, he had been accused of something much worse: murder.

In a way, this fact gave some spur of excitement to the young defense attorney. He was finally able to save someone from false accusation, because, let's face it, there was no way someone like Mr. Wright was actually a murderer, right? Not when he was the one who dialed the police and even stayed at the crime scene, waiting for the force to arrest him!

Aside of that, even if Apollo actually never directly met the former lawyer, Mr. Wright was also a close friend to Mr. Gavin, the man who gave him and his sister everything. His mentor never made friends with murderers!

But in these moments of excitement, Apollo was nervous. He had to be ready for the trial which was scheduled on the 20th, at 10AM. A murder trial. He needed to be prepared, he needed to finish the paperwork for this, he needed… he needed…

He needed a coach!

He wasn't so sure if he could do it alone anymore, in a real courtroom.

The despair nearly hit him when he called Klavier to see if the prosecutor could help him, but unfortunately, he was on tour with his band.

Then a miracle appeared. Mr. Gavin was awake already at the start of the afternoon, unusual from him. "Good day, Justice," the man greeted, trying to appease the soul of his protégé. "Are you preparing for the trial?"

"Y-Yes, sir!" Apollo replied, a bit on the shaking side.

"Good. What do you know about the circumstance of the case?"

In the moment of tension, Apollo dug into all his papers, frenetically trying to find the one that described the murder summary along with the preliminary autopsy report for the victim. Mr. Gavin softly giggled at his pupil's anxiety. "Justice, don't tell me… you forgot about it."

"N-No!" the attorney suddenly shouted loudly, his chords of steel now in effect, making the older man wince at the piercing sound. This prompted the younger man to lower his tone with a scratch behind his head. "I-I know the thing… let's see…"

"So, according to the police and the prosecution's side, Mr. Wright was losing a match of poker against Mr. John Smith in the basement of the Borscht Bowl Club. The room where they played is called the Hydeout by the regular customers and the club employees. In the impulse of the instant, an angry Mr. Wright hit Mr. Smith with a bottle, fatally wounding the man. According to the preliminary autopsy report, the strike was so hard the death was instantaneous."

"Incidentally, another body was found in the kitchen of the restaurant. The victim happened to be one of the cooks, Mr. Bell Crooks, but his death was deemed irrelevant to the actual murder of Mr. Smith."

A sudden, humble silence went on Mr. Gavin's person. "Pray, tell me how finding the body of the cook is unrelated."

Then there was it, an abrupt feeling that took over the young man, a feeling he had not sensed since before he could even remember.

His bracelet tightened.

To this, Apollo shook his head subtly and tried to ignore the sensation. "H-Hum… I think… I-I…"

"Is something the matter?" Mr. Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No sir! Nothing!" Apollo finally blurted out. "So… the reason the murder of Mr. Crooks is unrelated is because the police found a vampire bite mark on his neck, indicating Mr. Wright couldn't have killed the man. There were indications the bite mark was starting to close, meaning the cook was indeed alive and was in the process of changing into a vampire. He must have used his gun to shoot himself in the head. The reason the police thinks it's a suicide case is because gun powder was found on his hands, indicating a close-ranged shot, and the gun was also found in his firing hand with his fingers prints."

The young man added another irrelevant comment to himself. "That must have been a nightmare for Mr. Crooks, knowing he'll lose his humanity and choosing death to avoid the nightmare that was coming!"

Upon looking back at his mentor…

…he felt it again. His bracelet.

No words were exchanged for a long minute that appeared like an eternity. The only thing linking both men were their gazes which were locked onto each other's like two magnets stuck together. Mr. Gavin tensed, even if it was only a small tension, but Apollo knew. Mr. Gavin knew the boy could feel it, and the older man almost gasped at his student's reaction.

However, the mentor did his best to straighten himself. "So that's why," the blond haired man added.

Apollo couldn't help but shake his head again. Mr. Gavin… couldn't be involved in the murder, couldn't he? Not… him…

"I might need to add that I was there yesterday night," Mr. Gavin revealed. "I came to visit my good friend, Mr. Wright, of course."

After hearing the new revelation, Apollo sighed in relief. So that was why his mentor tensed. After all, anyone who had been in a place where two murders had taken place must feel tense as much as Mr. Gavin. "I… see…" the attorney remarked.

"I was also wondering," the mentor started. "Have you visited your client at the detention center yet?"

"Actually no," Apollo sighed. "He insisted there's no need, and that there's enough evidences to prove him innocent."

Even so, Apollo couldn't help but feel something off about Mr. Gavin. Maybe it was the fact he appeared too comfortable about speaking of the trial that awaited him, as if… he had a relation to the law himself. He kept talking about his "friends of law" and he had helped him with the law subject in the past, but Apollo had never met any of those mysterious friends, save for acknowledging the famous ex-attorney Phoenix Wright.

"Mr. Gavin, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"You seem to… know a lot about the procedures of a trial."

"That wasn't a question, Justice."

"Huh, I know that! But let's go to the main point of the subject."

The older man took a heavy breath. Maybe he didn't really wish to speak about the subject, but Apollo was really curious, and to his luck, Mr. Gavin decided to comply and speak about it.

"I used to be a defense attorney in the past too."

Apollo virtually snorted at the reveal. After all these years living with him, half of his own life, there were so few facts he knew about the one who gave him and his sister everything. He knew Mr. Gavin was a secretive man, but THAT secretive? There were still many mysteries behind the mind of the angelic man, and the fact that he was a defense attorney was definitely one of the more interesting facts.

"S-Sir, why did you never tell us?" Apollo muffled, trying to form coherent words.

The older man merely laughed at the question. "Because there was no need to tell you," he revealed. "My past is mine as your past is yours."

However, the curiosity was killing the young man. He really wanted to know. "Then why did you stop your career as an attorney?"

"I see no reason to tell you this either. I have my own reasons." Mr. Gavin bluntly answered, but seeing the slight distress in the boy, the man changed his mood to fit his more virtuous persona. "But you don't need to worry about your job and upcoming trial, Justice. Even without the experience, I know you'll do fine. I trust you."

"And if this will make you feel better, I will agree to accompany you on your first trial."

To these words, Apollo's eyes and mouth went wide of surprise. This was the other miracle he needed: an assistant for his first trial, a murder trial. Mr. Gavin couldn't help himself but smile when he noticed the sparkles shining in his student's gaze. "R-Really? You'd do this for me?" Apollo's chords were unsteady, trembling of hope and joy.

"You're my protégé, and as your mentor, it is my duty to help you," Mr. Gavin serenely declared.

"T-Thank you, sir!" the young man exclaimed with a wide grin, his fists rising high toward the ceiling in a victory pose.

However, the next question kind of killed the exciting mood. "Where's your sister, by the way?" Mr. Gavin asked, unexpectedly changing the subject.

"Oh, she went to visit a friend at Nine-Tails Vale."

* * *

Date: April 20th 2026, 9:31 AM  
Place: District Court, Hallway

That was it: the big show, starting in a little less than thirty minutes.

Apollo had never felt so grateful to see most of the familiar faces in the hallway for his first trial: Trucy, Clay and even his friend's father. Normally, Clay would attend his internship at the Space Center, but he was given a day off at his request so he could watch the start of his friend's career.

"Hey, where are Mr. Gavin and your client?" Clay asked, turning his head around, trying to find the two men.

"They are resting in the lobby no. 3!" Trucy answered with a joyful jump. Even if law was a boring subject to her, since it was her own brother's time to shine, she was definitely much more enthusiast at the idea of seeing a family being one of the main stars of the trial.

"Huh, more like they are discussing in the lobby, Trucy, not 'resting'…" Apollo remarked.

Mr. Terran had been silent since the beginning, but he finally approached his son's friend with a hand on the attorney's shoulder as a sign of encouragement. "I trust you'll do good, boy!" the father voiced. "Good luck!"

"And remember, Polly, what matters is the truth, not a victory!" Trucy yelled, waving at his older brother before she dragged herself to the courtroom gallery along with Clay and his father.

Apollo watched them as they disappeared from the hallway, shyly waving back at them with a small "Thank you" the other three couldn't hear.

The truth, indeed.

He turned himself to the lobby where his mentor and his client were still discussing together about what may come to the trial. At some point, he could see a slight confusion plastered on Mr. Wright's expression as the discussion went along. When they noticed the rookie attorney present, they decided to interrupt their conversation and both turned to him.

Somehow, the aura of both men caused him to tense a little more than usual. It appeared that everything will fall upon him at once, causing his discomfort. "You look tense, Justice," Mr. Gavin started. "Wound up tight."

The young attorney almost jumped of edginess from his mentor's words. "W-Wound up, sir?" Apollo questioned, his trembling lips revealing some grinding teeth. "No! I'm loose! I'm fine!"

"You've been practicing those chords of steel of yours, haven't you?" the older man teased.

Actually, he was right, and Apollo flustered at the thought. "I-I'm fine!" he yelled, still shaken. "I got up at 5AM to do my voice workout! I'm fine!"

Somehow, Mr. Wright was watching the two of them in complete silence, ostensibly amused by the relation the mentor and the student shared together. It must be one of those "family" moments he used to be so familiar with when he was still an attorney himself.

"As you know, your client today is a good friend of mine." Mr. Gavin added. "I wouldn't want to let him down. We can't let this case fall through."

"Yes," was the unheard word that escaped Apollo's mouth when he realized his voice went back into a low mode. He shook his head to straighten up, this time, louder. "Yes! I'm fine, sir!"

With a chuckle, Mr. Gavin made a little exasperate nod. "One more thing," the mentor continued. "Don't say you're fine quite so much. People might take you the wrong way."

The young man gulped at the comment. Nobody wanted to see a nervous attorney in action after all. He had to show himself as a true competent one on his job. "I'll see you again in a few, so you might want to introduce yourself to the client."

How weird, Apollo had actually never met Mr. Wright directly, despite being his attorney and despite being a close acquaintance to his own mentor. It was finally time to have a serious discussion between the two and let everything between themselves known so he could focus on proving the man's innocence. Of course, Mr. Wright was innocent! Watching as Mr. Gavin disappeared from the room, he was now alone with his client.

He gulped again when their stares finally crossed each other, and the older man's eyes were glued to his. The smile the ex-attorney gave him… left him with chills in the back.

However, the accused eyes were full of confidence.

Someone had to start the conversation, and as the lawyer, Apollo felt the need to begin. "Good uh, morning!" he greeted with his introverted grin.

It took few seconds to get a reply from the older man. "Morning," Mr. Wright greeted back, and this time, his smile appeared to be more cryptic than gentle. "It's all up to you today."

Now, Apollo wasn't so sure how to continue the discussion anymore. "Um…" he murmured before he finally let himself loosen up. "Are you sure you're okay, I mean, with me?"

The comment left Mr. Wright speechless, causing him to raise an eyebrow with bewilderment. "I'm a rookie attorney, and you're an ex-ace attorney…" Apollo added with a quivering tone. "Don't you have… old friends in the law to… defend you?"

"So why…"

More silent seconds went by until the client muttered his next words, which prompted Apollo to become mute by disbelief.

"You'll see."


	11. The Truth

_The trial begins now! With few changes to fit the AU._

_I did my best to skip parts, or else we'd have 50 pages of a trial we already know about, unless you haven't played the game, but if you read this fic, you SHOULD have played the game. Also, the chapter is much longer than I expected, so I split it again. To make up for this, I'm posting two chapters at the same time._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. __I also do not own the in-game scripts that can be found in this chapter__. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 10: The Truth**

Date: April 20th 2026, 10:00 AM  
Place: District Court, Courtroom No. 2

"The court is now in session for the trial of Phoenix Wright."

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor."

The defense took a gulp. "Uh, the defense is, uh, fine!"

An awkward pause reigned in the courtroom. Even people in the gallery were unable to continue their gossips about how unprofessional the defense attorney appeared. From his bench, Apollo swore he heard his sister shouting "You can do it, Polly!"

Instead, the young attorney faintly coughed before finally letting out: "I mean ready! The defense is ready, Your Honor!"

The rookie attorney felt like he was going to faint from the pressure, but he had to keep up, for both his career and mainly his client. Still, the judge (and probably everyone else too) appeared to have noticed the sweat drops on the young man's face. "Your name was…Mr. Justice? And this is your first trial?" the old judge turned to the boy, his strict look behind his facial hair intimidating the poor newbie.

Apollo nervously gasped when he realized the judge, the primary player of this trial, was addressing him directly. "Y-Yes, Your Honor! But I'm fine! Really!" the defense called back with his raspy voice.

He gave another short cough. Mr. Gavin, standing to his right as an "assistant", felt like patting his student on the head like a lost pet. "Mr. Gavin," the old, loud and wise voice of the judge called the mentor. "It's good to see you again on the defense's bench. It's been a while. Let's see, how many years have passed since the last time we've seen you in a courtroom? Ten…?"

"Eleven years to be precise, Your Honor," the blond haired man answered humbly. "It's always an honor to meet you."

Suddenly, the judge's expression shifted to astonishment. "Oh, oh, oh! You still look as young as ever!" the old man exclaimed. "One of these days, you need to tell me the secret of your youth! You haven't changed the slightness!"

Stuck between the exchanged conversation between the judge and his mentor, Apollo turned to Mr. Gavin and, somehow, he started blinking uncontrollably before he quickly shook his head. So the man had told him the truth when he mentioned about being a defense attorney in the past. Yet, he found this coincidental that he stopped his law career eleven years ago, the number of years which exactly matched the time when he and Trucy had been found by him. What exactly happened to his mentor that gave him the decision to retire himself from the law?

He hoped that, somehow, he'll know by the end of the trial.

"Then let's begin," the judge hollered, returning to the trial. "The defendant may enter the courtroom."

Soon, on the witness stand stood his client, looking confident as ever with the smirk coated on his face.

Phoenix Wright, he shall know the truth about the full story surrounding him.

Upon seeing the defendant on the stand, the judge nodded in a rather regretful way. "This is truly an unfortunate turn of events," the old man commented. "I'm sorry we have to meet again under these circumstances. Long time no see, Mr. Wright."

The defense lead looked around him as the conversation continued between the defendant and the judge, and he could have sworn he saw a mocking grin on the prosecution's side. Mr. Winston Payne, was it? From the look of it, maybe Mr. Payne and Mr. Wright had a fight in the past, which prompted the old prosecutor to smile in revenge of what had become of the former ace attorney.

Even so, Mr. Wright never lost his cool.

After the tension was gone from the people in the room, Mr. Payne finally began to give a short summary of the case.

"The crime occurred at the Borscht Bowl Club… a Russian restaurant. The defendant, Phoenix Wright, took the victim, a customer and he hit him! Wham! On the head! Smack! Killed him cold."

From the gallery, Clay sighed in boredom. Even to these days, even after his best friend became an attorney and even after encouraging him to pursue the road of law, Clay still had never been too keen about the law and all the procedures of a trial. The only thing he knew about the law were those reality shows where people sued other people for baseless reasons, entertaining the normal crowd because of the "judges" giving some funny blasts on the people. Yet, even those shows weren't really about true laws.

He still insisted on seeing his friend's first trial to encourage him with his physical presence, because that was what best friends do, don't they?

Mr. Terran came after his son out of curiosity because he had never attended a trial before, like most of the people in the mass. He also came to see how great his son's friend was with his new career. The logic could tell that not many newly graduated students from law majors will start their career with a murder case! Though it appeared that, like Clay, he found the trial not too interesting so far.

However, unlike the two others, Trucy had been attentively listening to everything that had been happening so far. She had only been interested in the law in general ever since her brother had passed the bar exam and got his shiny defense attorney badge because, one day, she wanted to assist him during one of these trials. After all, being part of the trial instead of being a simple member of the audience looked much more fun.

And so far, even if she could totally feel the obvious tension from Apollo, whenever it was his turn to speak, she'd cheer him up, but not too loudly, or the bailiffs might throw her out from the gallery.

More words were exchanged between all the parties, and Mr. Payne explained in details the motive for the murder. Apparently, Mr. Wright flew into a rage when his opponent and victim, Mr. Smith, was winning the poker game match. A black and white photo of the crime scene submitted as evidence proved that the winning hand went to the victim.

Childishly, the judge went into a rant mode, mentioning that gambling with money unsupervised was a type of crime itself.

"Objection!" Mr. Gavin shouted.

Apollo jolted from the sudden shout from his mentor. It was the first time hearing him using his louder tone in a court, and he was impressed how skillful that sounded. His heart nearly melt with professional admiration.

"It is true that the defendant was engaged in a game of poker with the victim," his mentor protested. "Yet it was only that: a game, in the purest sense. A competition, Your Honor."

He continued after a short pause. "Yes, a test of wits, a silent clash of passions. Only the cards, their backs wreathed in blue flame, know its final outcome."

There was a stroppy silence in the courtroom when all eyes were turned to the defense's stand, such that people could almost hear some crickets singing. Apollo turned his head all around him, only to redden in insecurity, nearly wanting to hide under the bench while Mr. Gavin remained unfazed. His old, lawyering habits must have stayed in him after all these long years.

In the end, the judge was the one to break the silence. "Er, come again?" the old man's voiced, addressing his attention to the defense's mentor.

"The cards on the table had blue backs, Your Honor," the prosecution answered. "I believe the defense was waxing poetic in an attempt to mystify those present and impress women."

Few chuckles were heard among the gallery, and Trucy was among them, though she would never admit that she had no idea what Mr. Gavin meant at first. She was about to be ready to cry out a happy "thanks" to Mr. Payne for the explanation.

It was now time for Mr. Wright's testimony and Apollo was fully drawing his thoughts on his client. He mustn't draw his curiosity elsewhere, or he might be lost in his first trial.

Once again, he felt so thankful for Mr. Gavin's presence, virtually wanting to hug the man for giving all the help he needed. With him on his side, the cross-examination will go much, much more smoothly.

As the testimony went on, Apollo was already creating his own questions to be asked as soon as the cross-examination time will come…

* * *

"It took a while, but Polly's performance brought a new witness on the stand!" Trucy silently yelled out to Clay and his father.

"Oh, really?" Clay mumbled in confusion since he was half-following the on-going trial.

"Yeah!" the girl exclaimed a little louder before her tone lowered few octaves. "Although… I'd say Mr. Gavin did seventy-five percent of the job Polly should have done, but hey! It's his first trial, and Mr. Gavin used to be a top-notch defense attorney! The blondie's here to save the day!"

Mr. Terran came along to enter the silly discussion. "So who's the new witness?" the father asked, rubbing his light bearded chin.

"According to, well, herself, she's a waitress of the restaurant, and her name's Olga Orly!" Trucy replied. "She was apparently there when the murder happened!"

"Heh, that's weird," the raven-haired young man commented. "I mean, why didn't they bring her since the beginning if she saw everything? That'd save a lot of time!"

"I dunno," the girl simply replied, crossing her arms in skepticism. "Maybe the people here are being paid in hours of work, so they wanna drag the trial the longest they can!"

"Well, damn," Clay cursed. "My tummy's starting to growl!" He turned to his father. "Hey Dad, do you have some money? I'm going to get something in the vending machine and I forgot my wallet at home."

After hearing his son's demands, the man gave him a stern glare. In some way, it scared the son. "What?" the man exclaimed. "That's not how you ask your father for money, and… don't tell me… You rode to this courtroom with MY car, without YOUR driving license that was in YOUR forgotten wallet?"

Clay was unable to hide the shameful grin that came after his father scolding. "Er, I'm sorry, Dad!" the young man responded, massaging the back of his neck in embarrassment.

The father let out a small growl of protest after he finally gave in to his son's demand. He dived his hand in his pocket.

Until he realized he forgot his wallet too, in which slept his own driving license.

"Hum, well, we'll just have to be careful on the way home and drive safely. And we'll starve until the end of the trial," Mr. Terran dryly stated.

The new witness testimony brought new interesting information to light, mainly that she was the one who dealt the cards to the two players and that she saw Mr. Wright strangling the victim to death. It was at the witness's cross-examination that Apollo finally got to shine on his own. Without the help of Mr. Gavin, he discovered the fishy statement from the witness, right when she mentioned the strangling comment.

"Objection!" Apollo cried, his chords of steel now in effect. "Really? 'Strangled', you say? That's odd." He searched through his evidences list and presented to the court the autopsy report of the victim. "This report shows that the victim died of a blow to the head!"

To this, Ms. Orly let out a strident, short screech. The now confident Apollo gave the witness a self-assured stare which practically gave her away. "Ms. Orly!" he firmly called. "Really now, did you witness the crime!?"

Apollo's comment made the witness scream of confusion, and, from the gallery, Trucy raised her fist in the air along with Clay and his father, keeping on congratulating her brother for his awesome performance.

However, the witness still insisted of seeing the deed done by the defendant, but from what Trucy made out, it appeared that she was telling the truth. Unfortunately, Ms. Orly only confounded the actions made by the defendant, probably from the trauma she had endured for witnessing the crime.

But, to everyone else in the courtroom, including the own defense team, the accusation was starting to fall onto that confused witness.

There were still needs to hear more from the waitress, and in her new testimony, she revealed more about the details of the current game the defendant and the victim were playing. The chips present proved that Mr. Wright was losing. To her dismay, and with a lot of thoughts, while looking at the colored crime photo of the game table, Apollo finally turned things around by proving that Mr. Wright was actually winning the game. The motive of losing the game suddenly became irrelevant to the case.

The victory instant for the defense was short. Soon, Ms. Orly objected to him, claiming there was a cheat from the defendant in the end.

"Man, now I'm very confused!" Clay sighed as he leaned uncomfortably against his chair, looking more bored as ever. "Apollo is all awesome and stuff, but I wish I knew what they were talking about. I've never played poker and I don't even know how this works!"

"Well, sonny, I'm a poker player and I admit I'm still lost as well." Mr. Terran ranted along with his son.

"Wait! What are you guys talking about?" Trucy turned to them with a protesting tone. "I got everything! And I can tell that Ms. Orly is the fishy one, and that Polly is the awesome one!"

It was only later there was a talk about a "fifth" ace card which Ms. Orly kept insisting of having seen. From her worried look about that cursed card, she didn't seem to be lying. Apollo and Mr. Gavin were carefully looking at cards plays from both players, starting with the defendant's ones. Examining Mr. Wright's cards didn't seem to get anywhere.

"The card backs are red…" Apollo murmured to his aide, a little unsure of himself. "For some reason, I thought that they were using blue cards in the final hands…"

Instinctively, he turned to his mentor. "Didn't you, Mr. Gavin?"

A distinct pause struck the man as if he was in deep thoughts. "Huh?" Mr. Gavin snapped at his pupil's question, only to respond in confusion. "Oh, hmm. Which was it now…"

Apollo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him. From the eleven years he had lived with him, Mr. Gavin had barely acted that way, but he tossed his concern aside. Maybe it'd been too long since he had been in a courtroom, or maybe he was still not used to stay awake at this time of the day. As a hunter, he led a night life for what seemed like forever, after all!

Finding nothing irregular about Mr. Wright's game hand, he decided to look at Mr. Smith's instead.

Then he found the suspicious part of the victim's hand.

A blue card was among the red cards.

"Your Honor!" Apollo called the judge, presenting the victim's game hand. "Look at this! One of the victim's cards… The back is a different color!"

"T-That's impossible!" Ms. Orly objected in a panicked state. "But I put that card in Wright's hand… Ack!"

Upon realizing what she just said, Ms. Orly gasped with her two hands on her lips, wanting to curse herself for letting known part of the truth. Finally, a slip of the tongue from the cheating dealer, and that was what the defense exactly needed.

"Your Honor?" Mr. Gavin started, turning his attention to the judge. "Tell me, what is the easiest way to cheat at poker? I'll tell you. One merely needs a friend, a 'comrade' shall we say… The dealer!"

"Ms. Orly, she's the cheater. A professional, I'd wager."

Once again, another screech from the witness filled the air, indicating she had been found out.

Apollo added his thoughts in this whole ordeal. "It's not hard to imagine an altercation between her and the victim. Therefore, the defense accuses the witness, Ms. Olga Orly, of murder!"

That was the final touch in the case, finally, and the truth was drawn out. Ms. Orly fainted at the reveal.

"Wow, you did it, Polly!" Trucy cheered from the gallery, hugging both her brother's friend and Mr. Terran tightly. "The truth was found, and Mr. Wright was really innocent!"

"Yeah!" Clay exclaimed along with her. "I admit I was bored, but it's good to see my buddy wins his first murder trial!"

"I know, I know!" the girl continued. "Let's celebrate this in a fancy restaurant somewhere! I'm so hungry for some filet mignon!"

"Hmm, isn't filet mignon a little expensive, though?" Mr. Terran intervened.

"Yep, but it's Polly's first win! C'mon!"

"Objection!"

Suddenly, all mouths were shut and glares were looking at the defendant's direction. With a decisive smirk, Mr. Wright's next words were cold when he distantly glared at the defense's bench.

"You can't end the trial here, Your Honor. Not yet."

* * *

Date: April 20th 2026, 11:52 AM  
Place: District Court, Hallway

The judge ordered a twenty minutes recess, though this time, no one from the audience were able to enter the lobby where the defense team spoke with their defendant. Trucy was almost jumping non-stop in front of the lobby door while Clay and his father went to the restrooms. She wanted to see her brother, to hear where the trial will be going from his own mouth.

To her surprise, not too long after her wait, Mr. Gavin appeared from the entrance, and from the short instance the door opened, she saw a glimpse of her brother discussing with the defendant in private. Upon seeing the girl impatiently standing in front of the door, Mr. Gavin carefully closed the door behind and smiled at his second protégée. "Well, well, what a surprise, Trucy!" Mr. Gavin greeted her. "I'm sorry, I can't let you in, but your brother is doing great so far. Don't worry about him, but his defendant, however, I'm afraid he might ruin the case for him."

"Awww, that's too bad!" Trucy sadly exclaimed. However, something strangely stood out in Mr. Gavin's right hand. His fingers were firmly holding a small bottle of medicine she had never seen before. Since when the man took medications? Maybe he was having a headache from coming back into this courtroom, but he was known to be perfectly healthy, save for his "eating disorder". Still… "Where are you going, Mr. Gavin?"

"The judge called me to his chambers," the man replied, replacing his glasses, albeit a bit nervously. "I need to make haste, so I'll see you after the trial."

There, Trucy perceived it.

A demon on his right hand with a really weak, subtle twitch from his fingers gripping on the pills bottle.

She blinked a few times before her attention returned to her protector, but he was already too far from her. Why was the man slightly tense? What were these pills anyway?

Soon, Clay finally came back from the restrooms, letting out a long sigh of weariness. "Well, I guess Apollo hasn't won yet!" Clay remarked before giggling a little. "Man, this is going to last few more hours!"

But the girl's eyes were wide and devoid of life. For the first time, Clay could see worries in the usually cheerful teen. "Trucy? What's up?" the young man called her out, waving a hand directly in front of her face.

Trucy jolted from the act like he just freed her out from a hypnosis session. "Oh, nothing!" the cheerful demeanor coming back to the teen. "I was just thinking how my brother will proceed to find the true truth of this case! I mean, everything's so complicated, even to me!"

"I couldn't agree more!" Clay agreed with her. "If this continues, I'm pretty sure Mr. Wright will be found guilty at the end! I wonder who's that other, mysterious witness is!"

A horrified silence followed the girl once more at her friend's remark.

She had a hunch in her mind, but she was troubled at the thought. An earlier hint at the trial gave it away. However, she hoped she was mistaken, and she hoped the devil in the hand was just some type of magic illusion.

* * *

Date: April 20th 2026, 12:23 AM  
Place: District Court, Courtroom No. 2

Finally, he could perceive it.

The faint twitch of the witness: whenever she was lying, she'd touched the back of her neck like she was in pain.

And it seemed her twitch was relevant to the case after all: it revealed she was not present during most of the events, at least not consciously since she was knocked out with a bottle that hit her on the back of her neck by the angry victim. Apparently, the card Ms. Orly had slipped into Mr. Wright play never appeared, meaning the failure of their plan to win against the genius poker player.

For a while, there was a moment of pure ecstasy when he could finally put his talent to use during a trial, and he was glad it worked. With this, Apollo will be able to save countless of falsely accused people.

At least, for now, he could easily focus on one falsely accused.

But then, if Ms. Orly wasn't the murderer, who could it be? Perhaps that second witness who was mentioned earlier?

Both the defense and the prosecution, and even the judge, were speechless on where the new lead left them. There was no way with their actual evidences to find their mysterious second witness, that "fourth" person.

However, one man among all the rest, objected to everyone's thoughts.

"I believe that, as the defense in this case, we are compelled to call Ms. Orly a 'big, fat liar'."

Apollo shook his head with disbelief. Were these words actually from his own mentor? Alas, it appeared so when the man continued to add further comments how the new facts she had brought gave her a motive for the murder.

The eyes of the woman were not only filled with anger, but pure fear as well. "What!? I didn't…" Ms. Orly desperately yelled out, nearly crying. "I'm no killer! It's a trap! Someone's trying to frame me!"

Then a savior came to her help, neither coming from the defense or the prosecution, but, surprisingly, the defendant himself. His small laugh echoed through the courtroom like a god watching the entire thing from above, with Mr. Wright being the top of them all. "Heh heh heh… What tangled webs we weave when we practice to deceive," the defendant poetically pronounced. "So tangled, we catch ourselves in the process."

Mr. Wright finally glared toward the defense, mainly, Mr. Gavin himself. "Such a hasty conclusion," the black haired man continued with a sneer. "It's not like you, Kristoph Gavin."

From the gallery, it appeared Clay finally took interest of the trial that took another turn of events, and unlike his father who had now fallen asleep, he was carefully listening to the trial. However, someone broke his attention to the current trial, and his eyes were directed toward his friend's sister who was trying to contain her terror, but to no avail. Now the worry seriously took another level on him as he clutched onto the girl.

"Trucy, I know something is bothering you!" Clay called her, gently grabbing her shoulders. "Please, tell me…"

An uncomfortable moment came as Trucy stared at the young man with her piercing eyes, the same mesmerizing ones she shared with her brother. She then leaned her upper body against his. No words were needed to ask for his comfort.

"I think… I know the fourth person the defendant spoke about…" she murmured, firmly clutching to Clay's jacket in despair.

"Apollo…" Mr. Wright called his defense attorney. "Perhaps you know who I'm talking about, the fourth person."

The rookie lawyer didn't seem to know yet, however.

"That person who swapped the cards made one critical error," Mr. Wright added.

The young attorney was still in deep thoughts as he pressed a finger against his forehead. "They wasn't considering the color on the back of the cards…" Apollo went along with his client.

The defendant's smile curled up higher upon hearing the answer from his lawyer. "Right," Mr. Wright agreed. "But how could such an obvious mistake occur? The cards used for the last game were red. Yet, there is one person, here, in our court, who thought those cards were blue."

Trying to dig deeper into every seconds and minutes that had passed since the start of the trial, Apollo fiddled with his memories, until… he found the answer.

_Yes, a test of wits, a silent clash of passions. Only the cards, their backs wreathed in blue flame, know its final outcome._

Upon realizing the truth, his world suddenly went dark, his mind went numb, and he couldn't think straight anymore.

No, that couldn't be the truth he was aiming for.

"Mr... K-Kristoph Gavin…" Apollo finally spilled out. His voice was shaken, weakened and terrified when he sadly stared at his mentor. "Please, don't tell me…"

Even so, the only noticeable feature on the mentor's expression was still the same one he wore through the entire trial: the serene and angelic smile.

"Kristoph Gavin," Phoenix Wright called, smirking. "You were the fourth person that night."

To the defendant's deception, Apollo tried to overturn the new fact by himself. "B-But course Mr. Gavin knows the color of the cards!"

That was a desperate attempt, wasn't it, he thought to himself, since Mr. Wright already had a clever counter-attack. "… How could he?" the man started. "As you can see, the photo of the crime scene is black and white. You can't tell which of the cards are blue: the ones on the floor, or the table."

"B-But look! You can see the colors in this photo!"

Apollo was definitely looking more desperate the more he attempted to counter his client's facts. Mr. Wright almost pitied the boy when he held the colored photo of the crime scene like a young toddler trying to attract interest with a drawing he just created.

But the truth had to be known, even if this was going to hurt two people in this very courtroom.

"Yes," Mr. Wright said. The simple word gave Apollo a tiny fragment of hope that he was right; alas, the hope was no more rather quickly. "But when he said the cards were 'blue', it was well before this evidence came to light! Well, Kristoph?"

Mr. Gavin didn't mutter a word.

"Mr… Gavin?" Apollo tried to call him for a reaction, but with no success.

"Mr. Gavin!" the judge finally called, louder this time. "I-Is something the matter?"

Yet, the defense's mentor spoke. "Hmm? N-No, nothing. Excuse me, it was just so… sudden." He turned to his protégé's client. "Wright. You aren't seriously accusing me… are you?"

Oh, but he was, so far as giving the possibility that Mr. Gavin and the victim knew each other.

And in spite of his confusion, Apollo wished to know the truth of all. "Mr. Wright," the young attorney tried to hail louder. "The defense would like to request that you testify to the court…"

"Objection!"

A plea from Mr. Gavin, again. How unusual. "The defense would like to request no such thing," the mentor practically ordered. "Testimonies must relate to the case. How could anything happening before that game of poker be related? As I explained before, the defense believes that Ms. Orly…"

"Am I to assume you speak for Mr. Justice in this?" the judge strictly interrupted, now using his own court power to settle the man. "He is the defense, not you."

A feeble growl escaped the man's lips.

"Mr. Justice," the old man returned his attention to the young lawyer. "The matter of Mr. Wright's testimony is up to you."

Now everyone had their eyes pointed at the defense attorney. Apollo was known to have a stage fright, but this time, he paid no heed to the audience, nor did he even care. Heavily breathing with anguish, he knew which decision he had to choose, even if… even if… this will hurt his own convictions.

"…The defense… would like… to request that Mr. Wright testify to the court!"

This cost him a terrifying glare from his mentor, but the boy didn't dare to cross his stare. "Et tu, Justice?" Mr. Gavin bluntly said. "You would betray me, your mentor?"

The flames of the rage that burned inside Mr. Gavin's eyes died out as soon as he saw the gleam of sadness overwhelming the expression of his pupil. The boy finally turned his sorrowful eyes on his. "I'm sorry, Mr. Gavin… This isn't about loyalty… This is about… the truth…"

Mr. Gavin gave the boy a smile in the end.

A sincere one.

He taught him well.


	12. A Dark Savior

_Of course, I made Polly and Truce more emo to fit the AU thingy. You can scream OOC fest, but ever since AA5 exists, I guess emo Polly is possible._

_Finally, the end of the trial, with a twist!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. __I also do not own the in-game scripts that can be found in this chapter__. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 11: A Dark Savior**

Date: April 20th 2026, 1:45 PM  
Place: District Court, Courtroom No. 2

When Mr. Wright finished his testimony, the audience was out of words. A new detail was brought about the fact that Mr. Gavin had indeed been at the Borscht Bowl Club the night of the murder. The fact was nothing new to Apollo and anyone who were acquaintances to the man since he was a "regular" to the place, but no one else was aware about it in the audience, including the judge and the prosecution.

Now, the defense attorney tried to concentrate his thoughts to the current testimony. However, he was fighting to wonder if the truth was really all that counted for him, like Mr. Gavin and even his little brother Klavier had always taught him, or rather the safety of his mentor.

That mentor who had saved him and his sister when they needed a savior.

Even Mr. Gavin appeared to stray away from his own convictions, now that he was left cornered in this room. "Justice," the man called. The name was direct and harsh, filled with authority.

"S-Sir!" the young lawyer straightened up his voice and posture at the name, nearly in a soldier way.

"He's lying, and you're going to expose him."

A pause struck Apollo before he answered. "Understood, sir."

Trucy saw it too, the distress of her brother even though he did his best to hide it. After all, he had never been really good to hide his tensions and lies. How ironic since he was the best at finding tensions and lies from others, no matter how hard they tried. The odd thought nearly gave her a small, pleasant time for giggles, but now, everything in front of her was darkness and despair. In a way, she was glad to see the whole thing from the gallery, unlike her brother who had to endure the complete ordeal and had to make the show go on. The thing must have been much harder for him….

…Especially when he was sitting right beside the man, the one who agreed to help him for his first trial, the one who was trying to hide the truth.

She tried to find more comfort by hanging onto Clay who simply covered the girl with his arms, attempting to give her the warmth she needed at the moment. "Don't worry," the young man gently whispered to her. "Everything will be fine! Apollo will be fine; Mr. Gavin will be fine too!"

But even Apollo's signature comforting words weren't working right now.

Another new fact came to everyone during Mr. Wright's cross-examination: he had tempted with one object in the crime scene, which was putting the victim's hat on his head.

"He wore it through our entire poker game," Mr. Wright indicated. "After calling the police, when I returned to the scene, his head was in full view. Shining bright… Just like in this photograph. I picked up his hat up of the floor and put it on his head."

Mr. Payne was surprised by the action of the defendant. As an ex-attorney, the man should have known it was technically illegal to temper with a crime scene before the arrival of the force. "Wh-Wh-Why'd you do a thing like that?" the old prosecutor spurted out.

"All I can say is… I'm sorry," Mr. Wright sighed. "But that's the only thing I touched at the crime scene."

Apollo didn't really like where this was going, but he went back to his high composure for the sake of the trial. "So… Ms. Orly didn't see it?" the young attorney added. "'It' being the victim's… er, his head."

"I'd think not" Mr. Wright answered. "She was out cold. I believe I was the only one who witnessed his head."

In the end, the cross-examination didn't get anywhere, and Mr. Gavin was starting to lose his patience, especially with all the talks about the bald head of the victim and the missing planted card.

"I believe that's enough of that."

All attention was turned to Mr. Gavin who just pronounced these words. "Mr. Gavin?" Apollo called him, but for once, the man ignored his protégé.

"This witness's 'testimony' is more like a 'travesty'. It's riddled with lies. I'm beginning to see how you came to lose your attorney's badge seven years ago…"

Apollo felt like he had to intervene. "Mr. Wright!" he cried to his client. "If you intend to ever tell the truth about this case… It's now or never!"

The defendant laughed. "Don't be misled. I haven't told a single lie here. When I noticed the 'trap'… I put the card in the bottle to dispose of it. And when I put the hat on the victim's head… Let's just say I had a reason for doing that as well."

He took out his cellphone. "That reason… is right here."

And soon enough, all ears were drawn to the recorded conversation on the cellphone: a quite, revealing one.

_Phoenix  
__Kristoph. I seem to be in a bit of trouble._

_Kristoph  
__What's this? Game not going well?_

_Phoenix  
__Something like that._

_Kristoph  
__That gentleman who challenged you… He turned out to be good?_

_Phoenix  
__He turned out to be dead. Someone hit him. Hard._

_Kristoph  
__You mean someone cracked that flawless bone china pate? It… wasn't you, was it?_

_Phoenix  
__Me? Please. The cops should be here any minute._

...

The recording ended, leading the entire court in silence. It was when Apollo sensed like he was giving in to the truth, the gloomy one. "W-When… did he see this 'bone china pate'?" he questioned, strains audible in his voice.

"Perhaps you would like to explain this to the court?" Mr. Wright drew the attention to his defense lawyer's mentor. "Exactly how did you come by your privileged knowledge of the victim's head?"

However, Mr. Gavin refused to end the thing in defeat. "So, this is your 'reason'," the mentor began coldly. "The reason why you put the victim's hat back on. It's come down to this, has it… Phoenix Wright."

This little verbal fight had led people in the gallery to start gossiping among all, drowning the voices of the people on the stage. To this, the judge was left with no choice but to implement another recess, the final one, to prepare both Mr. Gavin and Mr. Wright for what may come as soon as the trial will be back in session.

In the court, however, two individuals didn't want the trial to continue, for their own sanity.

They were going to lose their savior, for sure.

* * *

Date: April 20th 2026, 2:32 PM  
Place: District Court, Lobby No. 3

Apollo's eyes widened when he found Trucy siting alone on the couch in the lobby. Her eyes appeared to have swollen from few tears that were still shining on her pupils. The older brother couldn't help but wrap his arms around her, each other rubbing their back for coziness.

"Polly…" the teen girl softly murmured to her brother. "Do you really think… Mr. Gavin did it?"

The young man almost refused to answer the question, but… what mattered was the truth, right? "That's what… the evidences are telling us…"

Both of them released each other, though Trucy now decided to stay leaned against her brother's side. Apollo put an arm around her shoulders, gently stroking her upper arm. "I… need to tell you this…" the sister revealed, her voice still hoarse from the crying. "I saw something on him today."

Apollo raised an eyebrow at her. "W-What do you mean?" he asked, his chords trembling.

"A twitch on his right hand, I saw a demon's face while he was addressing me during the last recess, as if… he had something to hide. He was holding some meds bottle in his hand…"

No, how was that possible? Everything seemed to fall against their savior, their angel, and now this. The medications comment appeared a little random, but he had never seen Mr. Gavin with any medication before. Were these related to his tension?

"I… don't want to lose him, Polly!" her tone was now getting frustrated. "He gave us everything! A home, food, friends, and even a family! He… can't be a murderer!"

However, her rant was greeted by silence. Apollo didn't know how to respond to that. He didn't want this to happen either, but if Mr. Gavin really did something bad, then… he had no choice but to find the truth.

When the recess was about to end, a curiosity went by their door: a sealed envelope was sleeping under the lobby entrance, and Trucy went to open it carefully. Something was inside it.

An ace card. A bloody ace card.

Was this the missing fifth ace?

"We should get back to our seats, Truce," Apollo remarked while adjusting his tie and clothes. "The recess is going to end soon."

* * *

Date: April 20th 2026, 2:45 PM  
Place: District Court, Courtroom No. 2

That was not part of the truth he was aiming for.

Mr. Gavin was now alone, proudly standing on the witness stand, directing his eyes on everyone in the audience, but particularly toward a certain young girl whom he got to know through all these past years.

Even Trucy was unable to cheer things up, but Mr. Gavin didn't mind.

He just gave her a reassured smile until his attention went back to his student's direction. Somehow, Mr. Wright, now being pretty much out of the guilty way, was now standing close to Apollo, all confident, almost all happy.

This angered him.

In order to make the trial continue, Apollo had no choice but to go along with the flow, as far as to mention that the only way to know about the bald head of the victim was to be present at the crime scene. And for once, Mr. Wright actually complimented Apollo on the thought, which, for an instant, flattered the young attorney.

In his testimony, Mr. Gavin finally admitted he had gone to the Hydeout because he apparently "felt", inside the man, the rage that was going to be used through the cheating method against his pianist friend. This was how he saw the bald head on the now dead man. He added he saw his friend with the murder weapon, probably after he was done with the deed.

It was now Apollo's turn to question the man, but he really had no idea how to deal with his own mentor. "Mr. Justice, are you prepared?" the judge asked him, seeing the obvious discomfort emanating from the defense attorney.

"Yes, Your Honor…" Apollo half-lied, his fists still glued on his desk as if he didn't really want to move from there.

The process of the questioning didn't seem to get anywhere until the fact about the swapping card color came back. This time, confident as ever, Mr. Gavin asked his student what reason the "real killer" had to swap the cards in the victim's hand.

Suddenly, Apollo remembered.

In the lobby, when he was speaking with Trucy… the envelope, with the ace card and blood on it.

Could that be… the evidence he needed?

Well, there was nothing to lose now that they had gone so far in the trial, so he might as well show that bloodied ace card.

However, unbeknownst to him, that card was going to be the evidence that will mark Mr. Gavin's end. As soon as his mentor saw the card, he panicked, twitching and tensing all around, clutching against his own body.

"In-Inconceivable!" Mr. Gavin loudly mumbled from the shock, now drawing his concern to his clueless protégé. "How could you… What are you doing with that card!?"

It was not every day Apollo saw his mentor acting that way, and this led him to become speechless. Mr. Wright came to his rescue by answering for his attorney. "Oh, that card? It's mine," the defendant answered. "That is, I picked it up at the Borscht Bowl Club that night after the murder had occurred."

"N… No! Impossible! Unacceptable!" Mr. Gavin added, loss of words. "The court can't accept this evidence! It's a fraud!"

"A fraud?" Mr. Wright commented, his smirk wider now. "How can you be so sure? I would think the only person who could claim it was a fraud would be the one who took the real card from the crime scene… The real killer!"

Suddenly, the world had fallen upon the young defense attorney when his mentor and his client were arguing about what really happened in the crime scene. He had a hard time keeping up his attention on them because he realized that everything was surely lost now.

Why the hell did he present that card? For the truth, again?

Mr. Wright pretended that the card must have been taken away by the murderer since that one drop of blood would have been decisive evidence. Shortly enough, they managed to prove with that single card that there was a secret passage behind the cupboard that stood straight behind the position where the victim was sitting, rendering the position of the "second witness" useless. Thanks to the new fact, the new cupboard position completely hid the window where Mr. Gavin pretended to stand while witnessing the crime.

Everything pointed at him again.

When the judge finally cleared Mr. Wright from all suspicion, Mr. Gavin let out another loud objection with an obscure giggle.

"The defendant is 'cleared of all suspicion'?" the defense mentor commented, nearly indignantly. "This is hardly the time for jokes, Your Honor. Mr. Wright hasn't proven anyone's guilt or innocence here. What he has done is to use illegal evidence to put the blame on someone else!"

"I-Illegal evidence?" the judge gasped at the man's observation, but he was being interrupted by the defendant's objection.

"Let me ask you, Mr. Gavin," Mr. Wright started with protest. "Is there still any reason, at the present, to suspect me of wrongdoing?"

A barely noticeable pause stood before Mr. Gavin replied. "...Of course. This bottle, for instance. How do you intend to explain away your fingerprints on the murder weapon? The court, and this case, demand an explanation. I can think of only one reason why one would hold a bottle upside-down, and that is to hit someone with the bottom of the bottle. Well, Your Honor?"

A sudden gleam shined in Apollo's eyes at his mentor's objection. Maybe… maybe there was still a little hope that Mr. Gavin was not in the guilty party… A tiny fragment of hope was all he wished for. At this point, he had no care to see his defendant innocent or guilty, as long as Mr. Gavin will run free, once again…

However, when the attention was returned to him, asking for an explanation for Mr. Wright's fingerprints on the murder weapon, while he was skimming through all the evidences, he found his answer. A quite, simple answer.

In one of the photos of the club, a box of few bottles were placed near the pianist's feet. Naturally, if he were to pick up one of these bottles, he'd had to pick them upside-down.

And after examining the other bottles in that box, the famous cheated card added by Ms. Orly was found in one of them, proving the bottles were swapped. Only one person could have done it.

Kristoph Gavin.

The man was cornered.

Stuck between the four walls of this very courtroom, no criminal were able to leak out from them, where everyone were a witness to the baddies.

Immediately, the bailiffs ran to the mad man, quickly handcuffing him on the back. Mr. Gavin surrendered easily with no resistance, smiling at everyone in the audience, but especially to his "friend", Phoenix Wright.

When the judge pronounced his "not guilty" verdict, the audience applauded, but two people in this very courtroom couldn't think straight anymore.

Apollo Justice and Trucy Enigmar.

Their world crumbled in front of them as their dark savior was taken away from them.

It was the end.

* * *

"Objection!"

That objection from the man of truth, Phoenix Wright, echoed like a bullet in their heart along with a soft but slight diabolical laugh.

Wait, what else was needed to be added? Mr. Gavin was already destroyed, his castle was smashed, his fame had been crushed to dust. He was going to rot in a cell for he didn't know how long. Please, be merciful to the man Mr. Wright, the young attorney thought.

"Your Honor, please, I haven't finished," the newly freed defendant added while Mr. Gavin, attached by a pair of solid handcuffs, was taken away by the bailiffs.

"Mr. Wright," the judge started. "The trial cannot continue. I already passed my verdict."

The ex-attorney merely laughed again at the comment. "I know, Your Honor. However, this isn't about the trial. Please, hear me out. We need to get at the bottom of this."

"Five minutes. No more. I promise… Your Honor."

Apollo jolted. He remembered these words very well. Klavier begged with these very same words seven years ago before the fall of the ace attorney. In spite of the vengeful tone, Phoenix Wright had used them again today, this time with a shadowy mocking voice.

The old man gave the defendant a glare, deep in thought as he rubbed his beard. "Well, you certainly make it look rather important, Mr. Wright. I guess I can grant you these five minutes."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Gavin turned over, glaring at his old friend with an icy frown, but he still had his angelic smile somehow. How could his mentor keep his cool like that?

"Thank you," Mr. Wright commented. "Now, all of you seem to forget about the other victim of the regretful ordeal. I'm sure Your Honor knows what I'm talking about."

However, the judge lowered his eyes with a slight disgrace. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wright, I might have really forgotten. I'm working in a lot of cases…"

"Well then," Mr. Wright said, now turning his attention to the lone defense attorney whose state was still in shock. "Let's ask our young 'ace' attorney, shall we?"

Apollo glared at his client in utter confusion, his eyes still widened by the worries, his low eyebrows indicating a mix of worries and sadness, his fists firmly laying on the desk with anger, his teeth gritting in resentment. He took a heavy breath, digging in his thoughts to find out what his client was actually talking about.

And when he realized it, he froze in terror.

He really hoped that wasn't the case. After all these years…

"Y-You mean… the case about the… death of the restaurant cook, Mr. Bell Crook?" Apollo asked, his voice trembling.

"You remember well, Apollo," Mr. Wright complimented with a sneer.

"B-But the victim had been devoured by a v-vampire and he sh-shot himself since he was becoming one, which is why this has never been brought in this trial!"

"Really. Do you really think he killed himself?"

There was a silence.

"Then who killed him?" Apollo questioned straight to the main point, his voice getting more and more aggressive.

The answer surprised everyone. "I did," the defendant admitted, though he remained unfazed.

In a fury, the defense attorney hit the desk with his fists once again. "Mr. Wright, why did you do this?" he yelled out, almost begging him to go directly to the reason for this barbaric act.

"Bell actually asked for this," Mr. Wright simply answered. "He was changing into a vampire after all. After I called Mr. Gavin, I went back to the crime scene via the hidden corridor, which, as you might remember, happened to be linked to the kitchen. That was when I found Bell, clutching against the wall, bleeding and panicking, the poor man. He didn't have enough time to clearly see the one who bit him and left him for dead, but he remembered hearing someone coming out from the hidden passage."

"He reached for his gun, but he couldn't do it himself. As a hunter myself, I had easier time to kill vampires. Though killing one while he was becoming one of them had been a little harder for me, I admit, even if it is perfectly legal to kill a human changing into a vampire."

"As you might know, the little smiley badge on my cute beanie has a recording device on it. I've decided to record the entire thing, just in case… Shall I play this now?"

Mr. Wright pressed a button on his macaroon, and to everyone's surprise, a sound recording played itself.

_Bell  
__*coughs* Phoenix…_

_Phoenix  
__Bell! Are you… Oh no…_

_Bell  
__I-I've been b-b-bitten… He left me for dead, but… I-I'm not… I'm going to… to… be one…_

_Phoenix  
__No… Where__'__s the vampire? Where has he gone?_

_Bell  
__I-I don't know… I fainted… But I saw him coming out from the Hydeout… I remember… Bright blond hair… That's all I-I r-r-remember…_

_Phoenix  
__You can't mean…_

_Bell  
__P-Please, Phoenix… I c-c-can't do it… Take this… g-gun…_

...

The recording was cut here.

No one said a thing until few sobs resonated through the grand room.

They came from the defense attorney.

_Coming out from the Hydeout. Bright blond hair._ Those words echoed through his mind while he tried to shoo them away. His eyes were wandering around aimlessly until they locked themselves to his mentor's. The man was still giving him a smile despite all, a serene one, but Apollo could feel it, the bracelet tightening forcefully around his wrist when his attention was still drawn onto the man.

Mr. Gavin was feeling extremely tense and he was scared.

"You've no proof, Wright." Mr. Gavin bluntly commented.

Mr. Wright laughed at the man. "No, but Kristoph, since when do we need a proof or even a crime to punish a vampire?"

A… vampire…?

So, that was the truth, the whole truth? Apollo aimed for the truth just like he had been taught by his mentor, his friends, his sister, everyone. But… that wasn't the truth he was aiming for.

"Mr… Gavin…" the young man finally managed to mutter, addressing to his savior, his wide eyes were now bathing in barely visible tears. "I-If… you're not… one of them… then… you have no objection to prove yourself as… one of… us?"

However, to this, Mr. Gavin let out a soft chuckle. "Even if I have, I cannot hide anything from you anymore, can't I, Apollo Justice, now that the truth had been drawn out?"

And this time, Mr. Gavin widely smiled, letting out a gentle, hardly audible primal snarl, with visible sharp teeth under his upper lips.

The world had fallen upon the siblings.

"However, can I have… few last words?" Mr. Gavin giggled, and his concern was brought to his two protégés, to everyone's surprise. He could clearly see it, in the gallery, the sad eyes of his student's little sister, held by the two men who accompanied her. However, despite all, the girl managed to free herself from them and run through the audience, shoving anyone on her way, not even considering running around them with precaution. When she reached her destination, she aimlessly gripped onto her brother who welcomed her in his arms.

"Justice, Trucy. I'm surprised you haven't found out about my… true nature earlier, considering so many hints pointed to me as one of these so called 'dark' spawns. Your faith in me was… rather strong, almost blind, if I can say, so much even your little… sixth sense couldn't find me out. Have you ever wondered of the reason why I stopped my career as an attorney eleven years ago? The reason is simple: it was the year I was… reborn, a month before I found both of you."

"Of course, I couldn't live under the sun anymore, I couldn't even do my job properly, so I had no choice but to change my way of life. Oh! How hard it was to keep my sanity intact after I was reborn, but… there is a way, a way for us to keep our… humanity."

"I'm pretty sure you're thinking: 'But how can this be possible? How Mr. Gavin can possibly be a vampire? He was a hunter himself, for god's sake!'. Heh heh heh… such ignorance in humans gives me laughs."

"If I were to use the same fact on humans, suddenly, everything makes sense. How can a vampire kill another vampire? The same way a human can kill another human, simple as that."

"I admit, the reason I'm a hunter is… because I loved being a human being. With my newly acquired senses, I knew I could put them to use by hunting vampires and earning my life in the process. After all, we live in a country where material goods are part of the pleasures of life, and money is needed for this. I have no sympathy for… my own kinds."

"Yes, I have killed Smith because he was a rotten, cheating man. I also have killed many others for my own survival. I have also brought few in the darkness with me when we were short on hunted primes, but rest assured that I only changed the foul ones."

"Yes, I am the one who devoured that accursed lawyer Davon Malone, ten years ago, for stealing and ruining the life of two innocent children. How tasteless his blood was! So bitter, so cold. I still remember its disgusting taste to this day!"

"Justice, I admit, when I found you and your sister, clutching against each other under that cold raining night in the Vitamin Square, with your bracelet that shined despite the darkness of that day, the first thing that came to my mind was how I will be able to make use of your… Gramarye power. And how useful your sixth sense was to me! Humans and vampires smell the same and it is even hard for a spawn like myself to distinguish ones from others! But you… you could perceive them, discern them…"

"Every day, I told myself that as soon as you and your sister will discover my dark side, I'd… change you both…"

"…because I could never bring myself to kill you. Your power made my job more lucrative than ever!"

The two siblings were at loss of words. So, that was… their savior's plan all along. He didn't save them out of compassion, but for profit.

They refused to believe it.

"I'm a rotten man. I did all of this, because I'm an evil being devoid of love and empathy. Isn't that enough?"

A dark and loud laugh uncontrollably escaped the vampire's lips.

"Objection!"

The protest came from the low-spirited attorney, his voice sounded like he was begging, begging for pity from the authority of his court. "Mr. Gavin… I… object… Y-You can't be… one of them… You… can rationally think like us… You came to this trial under a sunny weather outside and yet, your skin d-didn't burn… A-And y-"

"Justice," Mr. Gavin interrupted. "You think too much. There's no need to stress yourself over this. After all, I am… one of your hunted preys. Think of me as one of them, because that's what I am."

"However, if you must know the answer to your wonders, I'll give you a hint. To my knowledge, one human, a genius psychologist and pharmacologist who worked in the famed Cosmos Space Center, was the only one on this entire little Earth could truly understand us, filthy vampires. Unfortunately, she is long gone from this world."

"Dr. Cykes, that is all."

"Bailiffs," he returned his attention to the ones escorting him, smiling at them, ignoring the strong reaction that came upon the two sobbing siblings. "Don't let them see my execution, for their sanity, at least."

These were his last words until the bailiffs escorted him to the backroom. Soon enough, few seconds after the door shut firmly, a gunshot resounded through the courtroom, nearly sounding forever through the siblings' ears. A swift and painless end was the sweetest thing Mr. Gavin could have asked for.

In the courtroom, the only one who was still smiling was Phoenix Wright.


	13. A New Chapter of Life

_So what's going to happen to our favorite siblings? And I'm pretty sure Phoenix's parents aren't dead._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 12: A New Chapter of Life**

Date: April 25th 2026, 11:12 AM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Hallway

"Hey Apollo, it's Clay!"

The young astronaut intern decided to use his day off to visit his old buddy instead of digging up into his vast amount of studies or enduring all the physical trainings he had to do for his astronaut job. However, after few, rather shy knocks on the door, no one came to welcome him. He knew the siblings were somewhere in, but he was surprised to hear no clicking sounds from the paws of their little furry friend who'd usually come waiting at the door with some whimpers, waiting for the guest to enter.

It had been almost a week since that significant trial, and not once a soul saw them getting out from their residence which they inherited from the previous owner. It appeared that a legacy from a vampire was still accepted as a genuine one, to their best…

Clay couldn't still believe it. After all these years he had known the little family, never once the thought of Mr. Gavin as a vampire crossed. To him, it was all usual for a hunter to live a nocturnal life, to never eat in front of them, to have a somehow recluse life. This sounded even more unbelievable when the two protégés living with him all along never knew the fact either. Even when Clay had started to have few hunting sessions with his friends and his mentor, no hints were ever given to show he was one of their prey himself.

He knew, as a friend, that he had to do something to help these siblings out in these times of need, just like Apollo did when his mother had… disappeared.

"Apollo? Trucy?" Clay called again, a little louder this time. "I know you guys are in here! Let me in! Pretty, please?"

It seemed patience had its virtue when, after about two minutes of waiting, the door finally opened. He waited for the person behind the door to reveal himself or herself: it was Trucy, her smile forcing itself to please the young man like there was nothing to worry about. "Hey there, Trucy!" the young man softly cried.

"Hey there, Clay!" the girl cheered, her eyes was still gleaming with some joy at seeing a new face in a while. "I'm glad you came! Come in!"

With an awkward silence, Clay stood still after entering the condo. Everything inside appeared like usual, though he couldn't see his friend anywhere, nor their golden retriever came to welcome him like she always did. "Where are Apollo and Vongole?"

There was a little moment of sadness as soon as the name of their furry friend came through his mouth, and Clay immediately guessed what happened.

"Vongole… She's gone too," Trucy replied, her half-closed eyes staring at the pillow where the dog usually slept. "She was getting old for her doggy years anyway, and with Mr. Gavin's gone, I think this made her sad and lonely, so…"

After hearing the news, Clay left a soft sigh before laying a hand on her shoulder, leaving a regretful expression. "I'm sorry, Trucy… I didn't know for Vongole…"

"It's okay!" the girl merrily replied. "We're fine now! Though I can't say the same for Polly, but… we still get to live here, in our home! Since Mr. Gavin already paid the condo at full since a while, well, there's almost no bill to pay for staying here!"

"Objection!" Clay suddenly protested in a mocking tone, pointing his finger high, mimicking his best friend. "You just mentioned 'We're fine now', but immediately after, you said 'I can't say the same for Polly'! A clear contradiction!"

The silly, unexpected objection from the young man prompted the girl to let escape a cheesy chuckle, being close to let out warm, cozy tears. "T-Thanks Clay! I needed that!"

When the whole atmosphere in the room had cooled down, Clay finally sat down with Trucy on the couch. "So, how were you guys doing in these last days? I texted you two, but I never got any reply, so I was worried."

Trucy took a long breath before she answered. "I'm sorry if we didn't reply. Actually, we both forgot to charge our phones and their batteries probably died out. And… I guess we never thought about recharging them! Ha, Ha…"

"Surprisingly, Klavier didn't appear to be emotionally hurt as us. It might be the fact Klavier and Mr. Gavin didn't get to see each other often, or they weren't that close. Or maybe he didn't want to appear too troubled for the show business since he's now a famous rock star. But he kinda understood the situation because he's a hunter himself and knows when duty and deeds have to be done… even if the prey was to be his own brother!"

"Polly, he took it… harder than we did. He blames himself for what happened, and… he's confused about the whole thing. I mean, he was a vampire hunter, and our protector was a vampire. Before the trial, he thought that vampires were all thoughtless creatures looking for blood, but after seeing how calculating Mr. Gavin was… We both started seeing them in a different light. He still doesn't know if he wants to keep going with the hunting thing!"

"And despite all of this, we… still have affection for the one who saved us! Mr. Gavin was kind to us! I'm sure he made himself all dark and evil and stuff on that trial day so we don't pity him!"

At the same moment, they could hear another creaking sound coming from the siblings' room door with few shy footsteps along on the floor, revealing the older sibling. His dark eyes bags were being his prominent features on his exhausted expression. On first sight, it appeared that Clay's friend had not slept much in these latest days.

"Hey Clay, what's up?" Apollo called his friend with a rather dying voice and a fake, half smile plastered on his lips.

Clay felt embarrassed to see his buddy in this state, but he knew he had to stay strong minded for them. "Apollo! How have you been? I've been doing good, but I've been worried about y-"

"I'm fine!" the young lawyer interrupted fairly loudly, almost aggressively to the point both Clay and Trucy backed away in a jolt. Upon noticing the reaction he had caused to the two, Apollo dropped his head in a shameful way, leaving out a long, exhausted sigh.

The male brunette scratched the back of his neck as an attempt to show his mortification. To tell the truth, he never felt so glad to see his friend in these dark times because he and his sister needed some… company. "I-I'm sorry!" Apollo rectified himself nervously before he finally relaxed down. "But really, Clay, thank you for coming here. You're really a best friend."

"D-Dude, no problem!" Clay exclaimed with a grin, blushing. "That's what friends are for!"

At that moment, Trucy went to charge their phones, and when she lightened the devices, she noticed about thirty missing text messages along with a dozen of missing calls from few friends, including one from her own best friend, a certain Jinxie.

Apollo's phone got about the same amount of texts and missing calls, and suddenly, the siblings felt a little less lonely in their world.

* * *

"So, what do you think you're going to do?" Clay asked his best friend after he took a sip of his favorite beer.

"I'm not too sure to tell the truth." Apollo honestly answered before he took a sip with his buddy. "Hey, Clay, do you think the Space Center needs a secretary or something?"

The astronaut intern laughed at the mockery. "C'mon, Pollo, you can do much more than a secretary!" he exclaimed relatively loudly. "You've got a defense attorney badge and everything! You're a certified attorney who can defend the innocents and all!"

Apollo chuckled. "I… know that… but, after that fiasco on my very first trial, I'm not sure if I want to do it anymore… Especially after learning that the truth isn't always the prettiest thing…"

"That reminds me," Clay started, rubbing his chin. "Have you thought about Phoenix Wright's offer?"

"W-What?" the brunette blurted out abruptly, almost spiting the liquid from his mouth. "Joining the firm of that forging ex-attorney? No thanks! Not after what he'd done to Mr. Gavin!"

Apollo could never forget that fateful day, only few minutes after the execution of his protector. While he and Trucy were still in the shock of the moment, Mr. Wright came to them, though his more confident smile had disappeared, leaving a sadder expression on the man who literally ruined the life of their savior.

"_I'm sorry for what happened to your mentor," the defendant told them with a look of concern. "But I had no choice. He was a murderer and a vampire, and worse of it all, sooner or later, I knew he'd… change you both."_

_Apollo's clenching hands were trembling of anger and confusion. He didn't know if he had to thank the man for saving them, or hit him for making him present a forged evidence on his very first trial and for literally making Mr. Gavin's life an insult to the entire world._

_At the time, Trucy turned to the now innocent defendant, her teeth clasping with sorrow and her eyes shimmering with tears. "If you knew he was a vampire, then why didn't you kill him in private instead of playing the attention whore, drama queen by revealing it to the world?" the girl cried to the man, still struggling to contain her aggressive fists before she'd hit him. "Why bringing him to a trial for everyone to see and then making my brother bringing that fate on him?"_

_Tensed at the girl's reaction, Mr. Wright looked into no direction in particular before he shifted with his beanie as a way to relieve his own stress. "Actually, I just learned it on the same day as the murder," the man revealed, not too content with his own comment. "As a part-hunter myself, I swear on the grave of my parents that I would have killed him long before, only if I knew. Even to this day, I still don't understand how he could have been all nice and pretty with you two, but… maybe your mentor was right about one thing."_

"_Perhaps we, humans, can't still fully comprehend these creatures."_

"_However, the trial was needed to find the true culprit of John Smith's murder. Even the murder of a rotten man is still murder, and as an… ex-attorney, I thought I had no choice but to do my part as a citizen of this country."_

"_A forging ex-attorney," Apollo promptly added with his dark, sinister gaze glaring at his client. "Just like seven years ago…"_

_Lost in his own thoughts, the ceiling suddenly appeared to look interesting to Mr. Wright's eyes as he was contemplating the bright, dull wall above his head. "So you know about that trial," the older man mysteriously reported, like an enigma. "Maybe… I did that, seven years ago. But, I guess it doesn't matter much now."_

_The man left a soft giggle for the upcoming move to the siblings, unsure if he'd do the right thing by lending them a small business card. He was now smiling at them, genuinely. "Apollo," he called his attorney, the younger man curiously gazing at the card. "You're a great attorney. As an old… friend of Kristoph, he had told me few stories about you both. You're not only a good attorney, but you and your best friend are also very good hunters for his hunting firm. Also, he mentioned how great of a magician you're becoming, Trucy."_

"_And whenever he was speaking of you both, I could see it in his eyes, and that was pride."_

_The two siblings still had their attention brought on the small card, until Trucy finally picked it up. It was Mr. Wright business card for his firm, so originally called the Wright Hunting Firm._

"_You two have talents," Mr. Wright continued. "Drop by and come to say 'hi' sometimes! Don't be strangers!"_

Whenever Apollo reminded himself of that moment, some anger faded away from his mind. Just like the first time he had learned about the feats of the man of truth when he was a mere adolescent, Phoenix Wright didn't appear like some fishy man who'd just use people for his own goals. Although that man still "used" him to convict and condemn his mentor… But then, Mr. Gavin didn't appear fishy either during all those eleven years.

After a lot of thoughts, he still wasn't sure if he could trust Mr. Wright again.

He took out the now worn out business card the man gave to Trucy. He would have thrown it in the trash if Mr. Wright wasn't such an enigma, and his curiosity to learn more to solve this enigma was raging inside him. Why was curiosity part of humanity? Why did he care so much to learn the truth?

"I'm… not ready to see him," Apollo finally told his friend, still holding the card in his hand. "Not yet, at least."

"Ah, I understand," Clay commented. "But you really need to find a job sooner or later, dude! I mean, Mr. Gavin gave you everything, even after his death, but money doesn't grow on trees! And besides, I'm sure if you work with a great ex-attorney like Mr. Wright, you'll have a better time living your dream of helping people!"

Once Clay finished his sentence, Apollo sighed. He exasperatedly pressed his head between his hands before he leaned himself toward the table, with some light, tired tears coming out from the exhaustion and everything. He finally gave his friend a desperate smile when he murmured these words: "Maybe you're right… It's… going to be a new chapter in our life…"

"However, again, not now, we still need our time to… grieve..."

"We'll be fine."

* * *

Date: June 16th 2026, 10:25 AM  
Place: Wright Hunting Firm, Entrance

Apollo and Trucy, loss of breath from the running they just did, looked together at the entrance door then at the worn business card stuck in their hands. They blinked a few times before realizing that was really the right address. The entrance door was in a bad shape, but at least it was not locked. Both entered the firm in a fast, furious manner, with Apollo using his nervous chords of steel to call "Mr. Wright!"

Not until a mere twenty minutes ago, the siblings were minding their own business when Trucy finally ended her last class exam. Both were on their way home (by walking, obviously) when Apollo's phone started to vibrate with a new incoming message from an unknown number.

_Appolo! Dis Phoenix wright, plz i need urgent halp! Come 2 find me plz_

Of course, any call for help drew the siblings' concern. Upon learning of what horror they might meet, they started running nervously to the so called firm, trying to find their business card on the way, not even minding how Mr. Wright was able to get his hands on Apollo's personal phone number.

However, when they finally opened the door, no one was in. And surprisingly, the place looked like a battlefield. It seemed more like the residence of a… hobo than a professional firm. Well, Mr. Gavin's firm was their own residence too, but the man was so clean and he taught the two kids to be as tidy that it didn't really matter anymore. Few hunting equipment were scattered all around: on the couch, in the bathroom and even in the kitchen.

While Trucy waited at the door to watch out for… eventual problems that might possibly be coming, Apollo attempted to make his way inside the firm without touching the equipment everywhere. He still called the man, hoping he'd reply, but then another quiver surprised his pocket. He took out his phone and saw another message from Mr. Wright, again.

_Oops, should tell u im in the hickfield clinic lulz. But srs, i need halp_

"Damnit!" Apollo hollered loudly when he nearly threw his phone away, giving a jump to his sister who turned to him. "Mr. Wright isn't even here! He's in the Hickfield clinic!"

Both siblings sighing in vexation, they started running again, this time toward the clinic. After another ten minutes of legs workout, they finally reached their destination. They were welcomed by a rather… sinister individual who appeared to be a doctor… staring intensely at Trucy. "Ohhhh, and who might you be, little girl?" the doctor hissed out, his screeching voice ringing in the girl's horrified ears, his hands slowly approaching her until Apollo gave the man a stern, menacing glare.

Trucy gasped at the perverted doctor and hid behind her brother. How the heck could Mr. Wright be placed in this kind of clinic? "We're searching for a certain Phoenix Wright," Apollo strictly revealed, and suddenly, he felt like a person in the force, with a girl behind him and a criminal to convict in the front. There was nearly a beam of pride on his face as the doctor slowly back away with fear and answered him.

"Oh, erm, yes, yes, Mr. Wright, that porcupine head of a pianist! You'll find him in the room 215!"

Pleased with the answer, both rushed to the said room, and unexpectedly, the man they were searching for was there, all comfortably on his bed, having some relaxing times watching… children samurai old shows. "Mr. Wright," Apollo called, all dumbfounded. "Are… you okay?"

Upon hearing the young attorney, the man turned to the two siblings, smiling at them. It was kind of creepy considering the recent rushing situation. "Ah! Apollo, Trucy! You finally came!"

"Huh?" Trucy looked around, seeing nothing out of the place, except for the pill of DVD covers all around, which were all, excitedly, of one of her favorite old shows, the Steel Samurai: Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo. She almost jolted of joy at seeing them, but she had to make herself serious in times of needs. "Weren't you in danger or something, Mr. Wright?" she asked.

The man on the bed merely laughed at them, virtually mocking them. With a face palm, Apollo was already ready to leave the room without further questions. "Oh, you could say so!" Mr. Wright started amicably. "Not anymore, actually, but I've been victim of a hit and run yesterday. Here I am today."

When hearing the little story, Apollo finally returned back, shifting his attention on the man once more, and this time with a more worried look. "What happened? How did you get hurt?" the attorney questioned.

"Oh, it's a long story, so come and sit down," Mr. Wright wisely said like an old grandfather excited to tell a fictional, fairy tale to his grandchildren. Apollo and Trucy looked at each other, raising their shoulders in confusion, but they decided to awkwardly obey. "Good, so I was on my way to the Alden Tae's restaurant, where I play the piano, of course. When I was close to the People Park, a fast car shoved me thirty feet away and I hit… something… then I walked away to the nearby clinic with a sprained ankle."

The two young people were left speechless at the story. Trucy broke the silence with a protest. "That wasn't even a long story!" she objected, sulking badly.

On the contrary to his sister, Apollo was more shocked by the amazing feat of Mr. Wright to have nothing more than a sprained ankle. He couldn't be human after surviving this type of accident! That, or the man should have been called Mr. Lucky, or something. "All right, Mr. Wright," Apollo started after a heavy sigh. "You called us, and we're here. What happened to you was regretful, but… why did you call us, exactly?"

"Well, why indeed?" Mr. Wright nearly ridiculed the boy's comment. "Actually, I want you to investigate and find the one responsible for my accident, and then I'll sue them!"

"What?" the attorney exclaimed. "I'm an attorney, not a detective!"

However, something sparkled inside Trucy's mind. For her, whenever there was work, there was money to gain, and working in an investigation together with her brother sounded like something she'd call fun. "Hey, Polly!" the girl started enthusiastically. "I think we should take the work! You've got a new client for your lawyering work! It'll be good for your career and our pockets! And you'll get to defend eventually, I'm sure!"

Hearing the comment from his sister prompted him to furrow his brows and cross his arms like an unhappy child. He always had a hard time not to listen to the heart and needs of his little sister. It must be his big brother's side of him. Leaving an annoyed sigh and dropping his shoulders in defeat, he finally mumbled: "All right, Truce, let's investigate."

Somehow, both Trucy and Mr. Wright made a "hurrah" victory move as Apollo unwillingly agreed to the request.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention, your _true_ client should be at the firm now, so let's not make the wait longer, shall we?" the man revealed with a sympathetic smile.

Apollo raised an eyebrow. "True" client, really?

* * *

And how weird the request had become.

It started with Mr. Wright "urgent" text message. Soon, the story shifted to a noodle stand thieving story for an odd man named Guy Eldoon, then Trucy's stolen magic panties (why didn't she tell Apollo about it earlier?). Finally, it became the murder of the real author of the hit-and-run involving the scary, hyperactive son of the powerful Kitaki gang own boss, Wocky Kitaki. The murder story brought back together the presence of, to their big surprise and a little joy, their old friend Klavier who had been assigned to this murder case as the prosecutor. Along him came his somewhat, grumpy "assistant", a scientist, or rather, wannabe scientist who was truly a detective, Ema Skye.

In spite of all that chaos, a new client finally emerged from the mass: none other than Wocky's fiancée, Alita Tiala. She asked Apollo to represent her soon-to-be-married husband, insisting he was innocent despite the young man admitting guilt from the start.

To his luck or rather, thanks to his attorney talent and his inherited sense, he managed to win the trial against his extremely talented prosecutor friend and find a truth which was much more heart lightened than his first trial, thankfully. He succeeded to catch the real murderer, Mrs. Tiala herself, who was nothing more than a heartless woman who only wished to gain the fortune of the Kitaki family by marrying their only son. Wocky was definitely not happy with the result, but it was to his fortune the Kitaki boss, the father himself, straightened the boy up to the right direction, for Apollo's best, truly!

And suddenly, his attorney job didn't look that bad anymore. With his sister Trucy Enigmar as his assistant, Mr. Phoenix Wright as his new law mentor, that grumpy yet amicable Detective Ema Skye and Prosecutor Klavier Gavin as his rivals to help him find the truth, his career and life was shifting toward a better life.

A new, merrier chapter of their lives began, indeed!

Even if that salty bowl of noodle didn't appear too much appealing as a reward…

Months had passed, and Apollo Justice's name was starting to get known among the area and the firm thanks to the few cases he'd taken, all with rightful innocent verdicts. Trucy insisted to stupidly rename the firm the "Wright '_Anything_' Agency" since many new talents were now found under the roof of the place. Oddly enough, Mr. Wright easily agreed to the new name. Sometimes, Apollo wondered if Trucy and Mr. Wright were somehow related in another life when both acted in the same easy-going way.

In the end, he was glad Mr. Wright was not only a man of truth, but a man to trust and a caring mentor.

* * *

Date: October 16th 2026, 4:47 PM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

"Dude, I have the evening off with the rest of the weekend!" Clay joyfully exclaimed as he sat in front of his friend's desk. "Let's go for a hunting session!"

"I'm sorry, Clay, I have a lot of paperwork and I need to bring Truce at the Wonder Bar for her Friday show," Apollo answered before he returned his attention to his papers.

"Aw, c'mon!" the now recently full-pledged astronaut protested. "Hunting with Mr. Wright only is boring, and I hardly get to have a Friday night off! By the way, where's Mr. Wright?"

When hearing the name of her mentor, Trucy quickly stopped her magic practice to answer her friend. "Oh, he's gone to see few people in the courtroom about something!" she happily answered. "I don't know what's all of this is about, though!"

Curiously, Clay returned to Apollo for an answer, but his buddy only let a breath out in response. "I don't know the answer either," the lawyer admitted. "Mr. Wright just won't tell us anything sometimes, but we got used to being oblivious, I guess."

"Man, that sucks!" Clay said in disappointment. "But hey, it's 5 PM in few minutes, so the shift's ending soon! Any plan for the night?"

Apollo hit his forehead with his palm. "Huh, Clay, didn't I just tell you that Trucy has a show tonight? Stop trying to convince me!"

Suddenly, the entrance door opened, revealing Mr. Wright who was finally back from the courtroom, and this time, he quite appeared in good mood, more than usual.

"Hey kids," the older man called them, attracting their attention on him. "I've got… good news, especially to you, Apollo."

"Ohhhhh! You're gonna get a gift, Polly!" Trucy yelled out with a grin.

"Wow! Congratulations Apollo!" Clay mockingly shouted out along with the girl.

"Hey! We don't even know what Mr. Wright will talk about!" Apollo objected, a bit on the shy side.

Playing the game along with the astronaut and the magician, Mr. Wright began to laugh. "Actually, I have no gift, but guess what? I've finally managed to prove my innocence regarding the forged evidence seven years and half ago, thanks to your fop friend Klavier, and few others."

Everyone, especially Trucy, cried of joy at the news and the girl went to hug her mentor tightly, to which Mr. Wright hug her back. The rest of the shift was talk about how this happened and how he was declared innocent. Apparently, the forger himself revealed about a client who needed that forged page, and the client was definitely not Mr. Wright. However, whenever the subject of the client's mysterious identity for the forgery was brought back by the three young people, a serious frown appeared on the older man's expression. "Well, let's just say someone wanted me to lose my trial against Klavier, and that person's gone now, so it doesn't matter much anyway."

The answer didn't quite satisfy them, especially Apollo, but with Mr. Wright, maybe it was the best to ignore the fact and just be glad that the man was now out of suspicion.

"_After all_," Mr. Wright thought to himself. "_Kristoph was the one behind it all, again. I don't want them to suffer the sadness again for their loved protector. And he did it all to make his little brother win._"

"_Klavier didn't look pleased of the truth at all either, the poor kid_."

* * *

**_Author's note_**_: Yes, I know. I needed a motive for Kristoph's forgery request, so there: a cheap, brotherly love :/_


	14. A New Lawyer

_I made the last trial extremely quick because, obviously, we don't need to hear about it. And the other trials of AA4 wouldn't work in this AU fic, so let's say Apollo had "other" trials, and Phoenix suddenly got declared innocent for the forging incident. I'm so cheap._

_I changed the start of the DLC part a bit. Forgive me. I also skip many trials to focus back to the vampire world._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. _I also do not own the in-game scripts that can be found in this chapter_. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 13: A New Lawyer**

Date: April 17th 2027, 3:42 PM  
Place: Nine-Tails Vale, Kyubi Manor

This was going to be a simple festivity day at Nine-Tails Vale, watching out for Trucy and her quite special friend Jinxie who wouldn't stop calling him a demon lawyer, thanks to his weird hair antennas that made him rather proud of his look. There was also no need to mention how he loved to wear red and how piercing his eyes were, scaring the little girl away. To top it all, Jinxie came from an area where people actually believed there were yokais wandering all around (or monsters, just to not sound like an otaku himself, but he couldn't help it). How people still believed in rubbish beliefs in the twenty-first century, especially in this country, was beyond his comprehension.

But today, Jinxie had just called for help, insisting that a certain sinister and powerful yokai known as Tenma Taro had murdered the alderman of the village. While Apollo did not believe the Tenma Taro legend the villagers feared so much, he was more concerned about the murder itself. And here he was now, rushing like a madman inside the manor and leaving Trucy outside to comfort her terrified friend. He dashed toward the wide room (so nicely named the Fox Chamber to honor the good yokai, the "protector" of the village, the Nine-Tails Fox). Apparently that was the room where the murder took place.

And what a sight that welcomed him! To his left, the alderman, Rex Kyubi, was left down on a table, blood splattered all around him on the furniture and floor alike, a spear thrust into his abdomen and black feathers spread everywhere. To his right, another bloodied surprise awaited him with a tall man sitting on the sofa, his forehead bleeding from what seemed to come from a blow.

Noticing the man on the right was still breathing, he immediately went to him, but fortunately, the man didn't appear to be fatally wounded. However, he was in need of medical assistance, and using his precious chords of steel, he called for help.

In the end, the wounded man was found the prime suspect of the crime, and later he was revealed to be Jinxie's father, Damian Tenma. Jinxie being Trucy's friend and Mr. Tenma being the only parent left for Jinxie, Apollo finally gave in to the puppy eyes the two girls gave him and accepted to defend the man in court. Aside, they were short of trials in these days and he'd have to pick up any case he could, especially since his boss Mr. Wright was planning on returning to the law soon.

Also, no more toilet cleaning in a while! How Mr. Wright was so obsessed with a clean, shining toilet was still a mystery to him.

Speaking of the man, where exactly was Mr. Wright anyway? He knew he went to meet an acquaintance of his, with his many recent travels to Europe. He might know quite a lot of people over there, and he was curious about who the person he met today was this time.

Of course, now that he had the experience, he knew where to start with the case, and he decided to begin with a simple visit at the detention center while Trucy returned to the agency. The interview with the man started quite… frighteningly, but it went more than well in the end.

And that was when things were starting to get interesting.

A call from Mr. Wright.

"Justice here!" Apollo responded the call.

"_Apollo, is that you?_"

"Hi, Mr. Wright, what can I do for you?"

"_Trucy told me you've taken on a new case_."

"Oh that. It was kinda spur of the moment."

"_That's fine, but I have a favor to ask. I'm at the airport right now. There was someone I had to meet. A new addition to the agency, actually_."

A new addition to the agency? This left Apollo speechless for few seconds in a kind of happy way. He always liked to meet new people.

"_Her name's Athena Cykes, and she just passed the bar_."

Then he finally remembered hearing about her from Mr. Wright himself, though he wasn't expecting the girl to join so soon. So, she was going to be a new attorney in the agency, and he couldn't wait to see her, how she looked like, what her techniques will be and everything else.

"_She took off as soon as I told her you needed help with a case. It was like there was no stopping her_."

The attorney almost jumped at the reveal. She already knew about the case? And she was already willing to help him? That Athena Cykes sure looked like an active, enthusiast girl on her job.

"_She's probably somewhere in Nine-Tails Vale by now. That's where that favor I mentioned comes in. I need you to go find her."_

Wait, how was he going to recognize the girl? Being the enigma he always was, Mr. Wright had never shown him or Trucy exactly how the girl looked like!

"_She'll be the girl in the yellow suit sporting an attorney's badge_."

"Okay, I'll find her."

It didn't take him too long to return to the village, and, surely quickly enough, he found a long, orange haired girl in a yellow suit arguing with a police officer. The latter found her suspicious since she appeared too young to have an attorney badge on her and to try making her way to the crime scene. So that was her!

Seeing how defensive and somewhat aggressive the young woman was, Apollo decided to wait and observe the two, until the officer grabbed her. A sudden move from girl made him jolt as she instinctively snatched the man's arms and threw him hard toward Apollo's direction!

Upon seeing the course of the police she threw off, just like that, she gasped in shock as soon as the flying body went straight on the spying young man in red she had never noticed. She ran toward both of them, only to find the police unarmed but out cold, with the other young man being topped by the unconscious body and trying to gently shove him away so he could make his way out.

What a nice way to be introduced to a newcomer!

"Whoops! Are you okay?" the young woman called.

"I think so…" Apollo answered, dusting himself from the dirt on his back, and then glancing at the policeman with some kind of embarrassment.

The girl made an even sadder face. "I'm SO sorry! I do that when people suddenly grab me! It's like a reflex or something."

Well, that was quite a reflex, he thought.

After shaking his head in disbelief, he decided to go straight to the point. "You're Athena Cykes, I take it?" the brunette questioned.

"That would be me!" Athena's eyes went wide in amazement. How could this young man know her name? "And you are?"

"I'm Apollo Justice. I work at the Wright Anything Agency."

Upon learning of the agency name, a silence struck on her mouth for few seconds. "The 'Wright Anything Agency'?" she repeated with a silly frown. "What a fishy sounding name…" But soon enough, she finally realized where the name came from. "Oh right, THAT Wright! So then, you must be…"

And just like that, her mood abruptly changed to a much happier expression while she intensely stared at him, leaving the young man in some discomfort. "Where have you been?! I've been looking all over for you!"

Thus everything started that way. After few talking, Apollo was impressed how much of a genius the girl was by becoming a defense attorney at only eighteen. And there he thought he was very sensational by getting his badge at a mere twenty-one, though he never actually bragged about it, save for shoving his badge at everyone. Later, she revealed about how she had been to Europe, and Apollo guessed she probably got it early thanks to the place being more progressive than their own country. He still remembered about Klavier going there to get his badge early too. He was also amazed by her studies in analytic psychology to help herself into, at least, defending people. That could be another way of digging up the truth out from people.

However, what was the most impressive was that little device she had on her collar. It was some type of emote screen device that actually showed her own emotions. It was like those shirts that changed colors whenever someone were happy or angry, but with a one hundred percent accuracy. Widget was the cute name given to it.

As they started investigating together in the manor, somehow, both already felt familiar with each other as if they'd been investigation partners since forever.

However, Apollo couldn't help but ponder deeply whenever he thought about Athena's last name.

Where exactly did he hear the name of "Cykes"?

* * *

They won the trial, and they won together.

Never Apollo had thought he'd need the help of the so called "analytic psychology" to get at the bottom of the trial, discovering the truth when his skill couldn't help (thanks to a certain pet hawk named Taka). He was glad to have a new working partner when there was a need for one. Ever since he insisted for Trucy to stay at home or at the agency to focus on her studies instead of his own law job, investigating was a little more difficult. Now both Jinxie and Mr. Tenma were free people once again, and the real murderer was behind the bars.

Though he wished Trucy's friend would stop calling him a demon, even if he was used to it by now.

He remembered how unfazed both were when they spoke of their strange developed senses, but it was more their unfazed expression that brought them questions about how normal they thought their senses were. While Apollo and, of course, Trucy, had piercing, inhumane eyes, Athena had her inhumane ears that nearly heard everything to the point of being able to tell people's emotion by their heartbeat. Anyone hearing them talking about their little genetic talent would find them crazy.

However, more mysteries seemed to surround the agency newcomer, especially how she appeared to know that trial prosecutor, a certain man named Simon Blackquill, a rather sinister, odd otaku inmate. Yes, otaku, as in a samurai-like person calling people with foreign terms, straight out from anime series. Not only Athena knew him and she didn't look like she wanted to speak about the prosecutor, but he was an inmate! A creepy and dark prosecuting inmate's presence was already unusual on the prosecution bench, so why that man?

No one knew, maybe except for the man himself.

Athena was now a full pledged member of the agency, and Trucy's dream of having another girl in the office had now been magically fulfilled for her. Now she didn't feel left out anymore, especially when before Athena's presence, only men frequented the firm. Even sometimes a male buddy named Clay was added in this little manly fun when there was a hunting session, making Trucy the sole girl of the place. To make Mr. Wright and Apollo pity on her more, she even decided to classify the mascot pot plant of the office, Charley, as a male! How desperate was that?!

Somehow, Apollo wasn't as enthusiast as his sister at the thought of having Athena in the agency, especially when the new girl and Trucy were so alike in some way. They loved to tease poor Apollo about pretty much anything. While the now senior attorney of the place didn't mind much the mocking side of the girls, now there were literally two female against him. This was without even mentioning the scornful side Mr. Wright who treated him like the group's buttmonkey!

* * *

Date: July 20th 2027, 11:56 AM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

When Athena learned that the Wright Anything Agency was also a firm of hunters, she was surprised. She was only aware of the law (and magic) side of the place, and this drew out a curiosity toward the hunters. Seeing how the men of the place enjoyed their side job in their "killing" spree, she didn't dare to ask them about the experience, even after three months since her coming back in this country.

She still remembered her mother's researches years ago, the ones about the vampires, and how all of these researches were literally burned to crisp. She couldn't quite exactly remember what happened in her young, confused state of mind back then, but at least she knew Simon wasn't the culprit. It made her a little sad that she couldn't really openly speak of her goal to prove the man's innocent regarding her mother's murder. The only man who appeared to know about it was Mr. Wright himself, but she felt bad for leaving everyone else in the dark. Everyone deserved to know the truth, after all.

When she came to the agency this morning, Mr. Wright was nowhere to be seen. Her senior partner Apollo and her new friend Trucy were already on their duties, with Trucy practicing for her magic show at the Wonder Bar and Apollo… cleaning the toilet again (at Mr. Wright's order, as usual). Trials seemed to be a rarity in this part of the city…

"Hey Trucy!" Athena called the magician, seeing that Apollo appeared to be a little too concentrated on his job. "Where's the boss?"

"Hey there, Athena!" Trucy greeted back with a big smile. "I dunno where he went, but he said it's a surprise!"

"Huh? Why is it a surprise to where he's going?" the attorney girl retorted.

"Again, I dunno! Mr. Wright loves to be mysterious. It's almost poetic!" the magician replied.

"Well, that's boring!" Athena hollered with her hands laid on her hips. "While we wait for him, I think we should watch this little show on TV today, and it plays in like… two minutes! It's a re-run, but I've seen it before and I thought you two should watch it too!"

This peeked Apollo's curiosity, hearing everything from the bathroom. "Huh? What show?" the young man asked, still aimlessly rubbing the shining seat with a towel.

"It's the Swashbuckler Spectacular!" Athena cheerfully replied. "It's a show at the city aquarium with Cap'n Orla's Swashbucklers fighting the evil Nostache, a vile pirate! There're a swordfight, a spectacular song and an awesome orca!"

"Heh, that sounds like a children's cartoon," Apollo dully commented as he returned his attention to the cleaning.

"NO!" Athena childishly protested. "Well, it's starting, let me open the TV!"

"Yay!" Trucy exclaimed along with her, abandoning her magic practice to sit beside the junior lawyer and be prepared for the awesomeness that was going to show soon.

In the end, Apollo joined them in the fun, though he didn't appear as passionate as the two girls, but the spectacle was indeed more spectacular than he thought. While the show plunged him into a sort of trance by the outstanding spectacle it offered, never he'd openly admit he loved it as much as the two others.

Not too long after the end of the show that lasted a little more than thirty minutes, Mr. Wright finally came back in the agency. When Athena continued to brag about the show, Apollo was the first to notice something peculiar on his boss.

"Wait, is that… an attorney badge?" Apollo exclaimed, staring at the tiny bright pin on the vest collar his boss was proudly wearing.

Athena hit herself when she practically ignored the little fact. "Wow, congratulations, boss!" she cried out to him with a grin, trying to redeem herself.

Trucy also joined them in the new fun. "Wow, so that was the surprise! Awesome!" Trucy hollered, giving the man a hug.

It was about time the agency welcomed back its old lawyer, like eight years ago.

The moment that felt like a heart warmed reunion ended as soon as a new client stepped in the agency. The new young woman looked… like a pirate from the Swashbuckler Spectacular…

* * *

Date: November 5th 2027, 10:12 PM  
Place: People Park

It was the very first time Clay had been hunting alone ever since he started his sessions with Apollo and Mr. Gavin many years ago, and somehow, he didn't really trust himself.

But if he managed to become an astronaut, especially when his first launch into space will be in a little more than a month, then he was surely capable of hunting alone. After all, he managed to do it a few times alone while he temporarily separated himself from the other hunters during their sessions. He knew many hunters tracked these creatures alone and still succeeded well.

His father had always recommended him to avoid hunting sessions since he was going to space soon, but Clay couldn't help it. He still wished to avenge the death of his mother. Even if he knew some vampires might be modestly good vampires, thanks to the existence of Mr. Gavin himself, he knew the ones wandering around at nights were mindless, hungry stalkers.

Also, tonight was another one of those rare Friday nights he got to do anything he wanted because the Space Center gave him the entire weekend off.

Evidently, his best friend couldn't be with him tonight because he had to accompany his sister to her Friday night show, as always. Mr. Wright was apparently still busy meeting with a mysterious person no one knew about, but the rumors said it was someone from the law, and someone ranked high. Who could they have been?

Clay carefully scrutinized the surrounding, trying to use his ears to hear for moving leaves and his eyes to look for something suspicious. It was fortunate that the lamps lights in the park were quite bright, but unfortunately, artificial lights never prevented these creatures from moving around like the sun did to them.

He used some thermal lenses to look around and he found nothing. He did his best to not use them too often since they were heavy and in the way, but he'd only use them as a last resort.

That was when he saw a human silhouette on the tree beside him, the thing directly above his head.

But the shadow was too fast for him, and it plunged directly at him.

When the creature brutally pinned him down on the hard ground, Clay didn't have the time to reach for his gun. The astronaut and hunter felt hopeless when the creature restraining him roared at him with an icy, inhumane glare, his mouth watering of hunger from the pleasant smell of blood from Clay's tiny cut on his arm. All hope was lost, it seemed.

Until Clay directly looked into the eyes of the vampire.

No, it couldn't be…

Of course, Mr. Gavin was a vampire, but that man couldn't have… changed them already? No, that was impossible! Yet, before him stood a clear contradiction of the impossibility.

"A-A-Apollo?" Clay loudly murmured, his voice trembling at the thought of seeing his friend as one of them. His stare was filled with pure terror.

And just as he muttered the name, a miracle happened.

The vampire, still on the top of him, suddenly stopped growling and slowly backed away from him. The creature's eyes were wide open, filled with what appeared to be… fear. As the silence filled the atmosphere, none of them moved for few seconds: both were strangely shivering.

To his relief, on the second sight, Clay could see it was not Apollo, at all.

Coincidently, the vampire really looked like him.

Clay finally shook his head as a way to escape his little dreamy state and managed to stretch an arm to reach his gun, ready to shoot the creature. To his surprise, the latter had fled a little too fast before Clay could even fire. The hunter stood quickly on his feet and tried running after the vampire, but unfortunately, he disappeared in the horizon. It was not the first time a vampire succeeded to flee him and his partners unarmed, but he really hoped some other hunters were around to catch him.

The young man exasperatedly threw his hand through his hair with a silly, lonely laugh. Any stranger who'd see him in that state would question his sanity. "Man, that was kinda funny!" Clay chuckled to himself. "Wait until I tell that to Apollo, I think he'll find me stupid!"

* * *

Date: November 27th 2027, 1:01 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Living Room

As usual, Mr. Wright was absent from the agency, and with no trial and no paperwork anywhere, the boss gave everyone a day off. Besides, it was a sunny Saturday, so everyone better enjoyed their day off all together, for once.

It was not the first time Athena came to the siblings' residence, but every time she came in, she was kind of envious to them to see such luxurious home. It couldn't even compare to her tiny rented apartment, but at least it was comfy. Of course, the siblings never really mentioned about the previous owner of the place, for the better or worse, but it appeared that everything that belonged to that mysterious owner were still in place everywhere in the cozy home.

Trucy had been procrastinating with her exam studies that were coming up, and instead, she decided to play a gaming console game along with Clay and Apollo. Curiously, the game they were playing was an online co-op first-person shooter where vampire hunters killed vampires and even humans sometimes, just for the laugh. Of course, Trucy was good at shooting on her own human allies, again, for the laugh, which somehow revealed the hidden gaming rage in her brother for lowering their own team's overall score. Clay, however, remained calm even after being killed by his friend's sister.

Curiosity led Athena to scrutinize around the siblings' home, and she found few pictures around, mostly consisting of younger versions of Apollo and Trucy, along with a golden retriever and a tall, blond man. The surprise hit her when she noticed there were no young child picture of Apollo anywhere, or even a younger version of the tall blond man who appeared to be acquaintance of the two siblings.

When the gaming session had ended, Apollo eagerly insisted to play another game instead, and he indicated a party board game, on the gaming console of course. Trucy agreed excitedly because she was good at the game, but Clay decided to take a break. When the astronaut made his way to the kitchen to get something to eat, he noticed the other attorney girl observing few other pictures in a mirrored armoire. "Hey, Athena, are you looking at these pictures?" Clay asked.

"Oh!" Athena jolted. "Yeah! I find it nice they had many pictures of them!"

"Yeah! Both Apollo and Trucy didn't change much since their young age!" Clay exclaimed along with her.

Athena returned her attention on the mysterious blond man who could be found among others. He surprisingly resembled to… a certain rock star prosecutor she had met in a previous case. "Who's that man with the two?" Athena interestedly asked.

The question caused a certain discomfort to Clay, but he decided to answer. For Athena to ask such question, he realized neither Apollo nor Trucy might have told her the complete story behind that man on the picture. "Well, I guess I can tell you since we trust you," Clay replied, dropping his tone while heading closer to the girl. "But please, don't yell it to others that I told you!"

Well, Athena had her sheer amount of secrets and stories she didn't really want to share either, mainly when it came to her past life and Simon Blackquill, so she nodded in agreement. Satisfied, Clay began. "That man's Kristoph Gavin, you know, the older brother of the famous lead singer of the Gavinners. He's also a known prosecutor."

"Oh yeah, I know Prosecutor Klavier Gavin! I met him in a case not long ago! And I got his autograph too!" Athena whooped like a dreaming girl until she realized she was being too loud. She shushed her tone quickly. "So singer Klavier has a brother?"

"Yeah, Apollo and Trucy lost their family to vampires when they were young, and Kristoph was the one to find them and take care of them," Clay continued.

"Huh, well that's weird… Where's Kristoph then?" Athena commented.

Clay went silent for a moment, looking pensive, then he returned his attention to the pictures. "If you really want to know, I'll let you guess," Clay started, smiling weakly. "Look carefully at all the pictures portraying our two friends over the years where Kristoph appears, and you'll find out."

"A guessing game? I like guessing games!" Athena almost yelled out but she immediately put her hand on her lips to shut herself.

She decided to play along and observed the pictures. There didn't seem to be anything fishy. In all of them, all the three appeared to be happy, grinning and beaming with life.

…

All of the sudden, something clicked in her deep soul while she continued to stare into the Kristoph person. No, that was impossible.

She recognized the silhouette of a murderer.

The murderer of _her_ mother.

Suddenly, Athena clasped her hands against her head, shivering from all parts of her body, her trembling lips trying to mutter few words and her eyes going empty, barren of emotion. Upon noticing the odd and unexpected reaction from his friend, Clay quickly grabbed her shoulders, worried of her impulsive state of mind. "Athena, what's the matter?" Clay yelled, drawing the attention from the two siblings. When the two saw the astronaut clutching and shaking the young lawyer, they immediately rushed to them by calling the girl's name.

"A-Athena?" Apollo cried out, holding her between his arms in his turn. "C-Come back to us! What's happening?"

She wanted to prevent herself from spacing out, so Athena quickly shook her head, but she was still trembling of fear, pointing at the pictures. "Huh… H-He… I-I think…" was all she managed to get out.

The siblings directed their sight on the pictures, seeing nothing odd in particular. "W-What about the p-pictures?" Trucy wailed.

One of Athena's shaking hands was focused on one specific picture in which a sixteen years old Apollo was standing with Vongole and Mr. Gavin, dating from October 12th, 2020. Apollo remembered that day quite well: it was when his old mentor came back from his "one week vacation". He'd remember that because Mr. Gavin was wearing a striking bandage on his right hand.

"I think… he's the man who murdered my mother, seven years ago… I… finally remember…"

It was when goose bumps appeared all over Apollo's body. He, too, went speechless.

Now he remembered where he heard the name of Cykes. That was during that murder case in the Cosmos Space Center and the last day of Mr. Gavin. The old mentor's voice now echoed through his shocked mind like an incessant, cutting wind striking against him.

_However, if you must know the answer to your wonders, I'll give you a hint. Dr. Cykes, that is all._

* * *

"So, your mother was Dr. Metis Cykes?" Apollo asked.

"Yes," Athena weakly replied, still shaken by the sudden emotions rushing. "And I saw the murderer…"

Neither Apollo nor Trucy said a thing. They were staring at the floor, a little sorry for the girl when they realized Mr. Gavin might have been behind the murder of their friend's mother. Noticing the discomfort in the siblings, Clay decided to take over. "You saw Mr. Gavin doing the deed?" the astronaut questioned.

The young attorney woman wiped out few tears. "I didn't really see the murder itself, but I saw him holding the bloodied sword. He was wearing a mask, he was tall and he had long blond hair, just like… that Kristoph. And to top it all, there was no heartbeat from him, so I immediately knew he was a vampire. It was confirmed when I heard him growl like a beast…"

"Out of fear and anger, I took a knife and tried to hurt him, but I only managed to reach his right hand. I still… remember the snarl and roar when he cried of pain. I still have nightmare about it to this day…"

"That's when he shoved me out of his way and I passed out. When I woke up, Simon found me and my mother… and… I think he thought I did it innocently, because I was trying to 'repair' her with the robot repair machine. Alas, that machine would've kill her if it were to "repair" a human being… He didn't want to see me convicted, so he took all the blame for my sake…"

"I was younger back then. The shock made me forget about most of the event, and there was a trial for Simon… I was the sole witness, and I kept telling the audience how Simon's heart screamed he didn't do it. I was so silly, no one would believe such things!"

"Then, when I saw the picture of that Kristoph, the date stamp on it… and with your guessing game, Clay… I remembered everything…"

Both Clay and Trucy began patting the back of a saddened Athena to bring her comfort. Trucy was especially sorry that the man who had helped them had even more skeletons in his closet than she thought.

However, Apollo quickly hit a table in anger with his fists. How many more murders did Mr. Gavin accomplish in the past? Why was such an evil man helping him and his sister? And also, why did he have to kill a mother, of all people?

What if Mr. Gavin was also their mother's killer so he could get ahold of her two blessed children?

"Also, the entire researches of my mother about the psychology of vampires had been burn down to the last page by the same man. She wrote all the formulas for a medicine that could help control the hunger of the vampires so they could live peacefully with humans. With the medication, they could even live under the sunlight! And now they are gone! The murderer stole the remaining meds! To this day, I still wonder why a vampire like himself did something like this… My mother was helping the people like Mr. Kristoph, so… why?!"

That was when Apollo and Trucy realized how Mr. Gavin was easily able to accompany them in their first trial despite the sunny weather of that fateful day. But of course, he was carrying a bottle of medications that day! This completely explained how a vampire like Mr. Gavin was able to wander around freely under a normal bright sky!

So their dark mentor really was Athena's mother's killer…

More sobs escaped Athena's mouth as she was lost into an uncontrollable crying moment. Apollo slightly calmed down upon hearing his friend crying out her sadness, but at the same time, he was thinking of an answer to her angry question, and he found one.

"I think… Mr. Gavin killed your mother because her idea will revolutionize a world where his hunting job wouldn't be lucrative anymore…" Apollo revealed.

"That… actually makes senses," Clay added. "A peaceful world with vampires living with humans together would be kinda neat, but if someone is a full-time hunter, they'd have no job!"

"Yeah! There will be nothing to hunt if vampires are just like humans!" Trucy went along with the two others.

Somehow, the sadness in Athena had dissipate slightly at the reaction of the three. Normally, whenever the discussion of vampires living peacefully with humans came out, there'd be controversial topics about them being mindless and all, and that it could never work. And there they were, nearly agreeing with her as if such thing like vampires being nice was something… possible.

"Wait," Athena started, still in disbelief. "You guys seem all comfortable about vampires being good! Now I'm confused."

Apollo took a long breath before answering. "Well, Mr. Gavin was a vampire. He was nice to us and he was a bright man, so yes, we believe they can be like us humans."

"But we've moved now!" Trucy yelled out. "Though we still don't know how he could control his instincts before he stole your mother's meds. We only discovered he was a vampire the day he was executed."

Suddenly, a happier spark in Athena's mind struck her when speaking about vampires' emotions. She felt like reviving the old times when she lived in the Space Center, the time when she bragged about her mother's studies. "Actually, there's a simple, yet not so simple way for a vampire to keep their sanity from the start!" Athena boasted. "You know, all vampires were once humans, right? So when they are reborn into one, they need to get fed and never be hungry, because, like in the animal kingdom, hunger is what leads predators to act aggressively! To not go after humans, good vampires go after animals instead!"

Was the explanation that simple? Now that they put more thoughts into it, everyone heard about those documentaries and articles depicting how animals living among humans were tame and not really aggressive, thanks to the humans who kept them fed all the time. There were also stories about humans beginning to act instinctively when a famine struck the mass. Famines had caused humans to eat other humans as their last resort in the past.

So could the same be applied to vampires?

"I wish Mom's studies were still here, so we wouldn't have to hunt them anymore," Athena let out, now returning to her sad state. "If only that man didn't burn her notes…"

Now the room was silent like all hope was lost.

"Wait," Trucy broke, turning to Athena. "I'm surprised someone so science like your mom couldn't have made a safety backup of her notes."

And abruptly, all eyes were turned to the magician who gazed back at everyone, speechless. A… backup?

"Wait, Trucy!" Athena yelled. "You… might be right, there's hope! Mom always told me whenever I have stuff I want to keep in any devices, I should always make a backup! Maybe there's really a backup of her researches somewhere! And I think I know who to ask that for!"

"We should go ask Ponco and Clonco!"

* * *

_**Author's note**__: Yes, Shimmering-Sky, you were right all along about Metis's murder. :p_


	15. A Mother and a Father's Legacy

_I had a very hard time starting this chapter. Maybe there are too much of main characters now. :( It shall be remedied, I think._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 14: A Mother and a Father's Legacy**

Date: November 27th 2027, 3:49 PM  
Place: Cosmos Space Center, Entrance

They were fortunate Clay had a car. Well, his father's car. It didn't take long before they reached the Cosmos Space Center. Somehow, Clay grunted a bit for coming here since it reminded him of his job life. He loved his job, but in such sunny day, he wished he could just enjoy it to its fullest outside professional business. At least, this time, he came with another goal in mind along with his three friends.

He still couldn't fully recognize the fateful event that occurred in this very place. Thanks to Apollo, he had already been aware that a murder stole away the life of a genius scientist before, but it never came to him to ask about it with the older workers here. He even less grasped that Athena actually came from here. And new to him, he only learned the two friendly robots in the center were apparently created as a collaboration from Athena's own mother and the odd robotic genius Aura.

Once again, he knew Aura was a weirdo, but he never really questioned himself about her state of mind.

When he took a peek on Athena when they arrived at the entrance of the center, he noticed the tension from the girl as soon as she stepped into the turnstile. For some reason, she appeared to wish avoiding the place at all cost. It was understandable since she was coming back to the home where her mother was killed in front of her.

"Look, there's a robot over there!" Trucy cried, pointing to a certain direction.

Focusing, Apollo could see it too, while Clay and Athena were still trying to squint for the view, but it was no good. Well, the Gramarye kids had good eyes, it seemed. They rushed toward the direction and soon, the robot, upon noticing them, started rolling at them with a smiling emote on its screen.

"Hello, friends!" the little robot called them out.

"Ponco!" Athena ran to her old mechanic friend to give it a hug. "I've missed you!"

"Athena! It's been seven years and forty-seven days I haven't seen you!" little Ponco responded.

"Woah, I didn't know Ponco was bright enough to remember a face even after seven years!" Clay exclaimed.

Suddenly, the robot turned to the astronaut and an angry face appeared on the machine's screen. "Of course I can, Mr. Terran! I remember everything!" Ponco protested, making striking moves tothe astronaut who began to ashamedly back away from it.

"Well, Ponco, let's get to the point," Athena interrupted the little skirmish between the two. "Do you know about Mom's researches for the vampires' medicines? Can you check if she had a backup of her researches?"

The robot appeared to make blinking moves like it was in a thoughtful state. "Your mother, Mommy Metis? Let me check in my database. Searching, searching…"

It didn't take more than three seconds for Ponco to reveal an answer, a positive one.

"Yes! I know! She input a secret backup of the scans of her researches inside the Widget database!"

"What?" was all Athena could spout out.

* * *

Date: November 27th 2027, 6:25 PM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Entrance

After all these years, her mother's researches were literally hidden on herself, and she had never realized it. All she needed to do was to dig into Widget own database, though it was made sure Athena was only one with the access to the scans. Maybe that was one of the reasons her mother left the device on her, asking her to always keep it no matter what and protect the thing until the end.

Finally, her mother's legacy will be revived.

After printing all the notes her mother input in the device, none in the group could make out the scientific terms written on them. When everyone turned to Clay for answers since he was a rather talented engineer, he objected, insisting that being a space engineer wasn't the same as being a scientist.

So they basically needed to find a trustful scientist, or maybe a pharmacologist. But no name came to them.

The group made their way back to the agency when Athena got a message from their boss, pretending to have "good news" for her. Of course, this was always a better reason for driving… faster to destination, to which Clay complied easily. Good, unknown news always drew curiosity out, and they all wanted to know about them fast.

Thanks again to Clay's safety and genius driving skills (he was a rocket pilot after all!), their way to the agency didn't take long. Being the top shape ones of the little group, both Athena and Clay were the first to reach the entrance, with Trucy following, glad to not be the last one, then finally Apollo, all breathless from the running. The latter really hoped that was the last dash of their day.

When they opened the door, they were welcomed by a rather confident Mr. Wright with a smile and a serious stare. Apollo and Trucy hadn't seen him that way ever since his trial with Mr. Gavin, and they really, really wished it wasn't a bad new for them like last time.

Wait, he did mention good news. Yet, sometimes, good news from Mr. Wright didn't necessarily mean a good thing…

"Athena," Mr. Wright started, his smirk reaching even a higher level now. "You remember why you became a lawyer?"

"Yeah! It's to save a certain special someone!" Athena exclaimed, grinning along.

"Then I don't need to hide this anymore," the boss continued. "I have spoken to the district chief prosecutor, and he finally managed to do this today."

"Huh? Managed to do what?" Apollo asked.

"Scheduled on December 12th, a retrial for Simon Blackquill, a chance for the innocent to go free by revealing the truth. What else?"

"I'll be the lead defense, and you're coming with me, Athena."

Upon hearing the news, a warm river of tears flowed on Athena's reddened cheeks. She happily gave away a wide, relieving smile. After all these years of hard studies alone in Europe, working herself to the bones, tossing away her fear of courtrooms and the laws, she will be able to save her old friend from a soon-to-come death penalty. She made it, barely, thanks to her caring boss, Phoenix Wright.

Now she felt her badge wasn't just for the show anymore.

* * *

"By the way, Athena, what are you holding in your hands?" the boss inquired.

When her sad but happy moment died out a little and she returned to her quirky self, Athena looked at the scientific papers again in disbelief, nearly forgetting about them. "Well, it's my mother's researches on the psychology of vampires. She wrote formulas how to create the medications to help vampires control their hunger so they don't go on killing spree!"

Mr. Wright's mouth went numb at the reveal. Psychology of vampires? Medications to help them?

"But we don't understand anything written on it!" Trucy added with a little despair. "It's too scientific for us!"

"And we don't know any scientist who can help us!" Apollo commented further.

Suddenly, Clay virtually growled at the mentor in annoyance when he noticed the stare he was being given by the older man. "Hey! Space engineers and scientists are not the same, darnit!" Clay protested again.

"Woah, Clay, I didn't say anything!" the boss mocked with a satisfied grin. "But if you are searching for a scientist, I might be able to help."

Everyone looked at the older man in skepticism. "Wait, Mr. Wright, you're a scientist?" Apollo asked.

This comment let a burst of laugh escape the mentor. "Let's just say… I have connections," he answered, taking out his old cellphone and dialing up a number without revealing them anything.

As soon as the siblings heard Mr. Wright calling the name of Ms. Ema Skye, they literally hit their forehead with their palms. How could they have forgotten about her? They always acknowledged her as a grumpy, snackoo-eating detective, but they tended to forget about her science side (even when science was one of her most prominent features).

To their luck, Detective Skye keenly agreed to come and check the papers out. It took her only fifteen minutes to get to the agency. When she reached the little group, her eyes sparkling of glee at having a science project at hands, she carefully read the first pages, words by words, and then to skim a few, straight to the formulas. She smiled.

"You know, *_crunches_* that Dr. Metis Cykes was a genius," Ema mumbled, her mouth full of snackoos. "It's a sad thing the world lost someone like her. But *_crunches_* I think I can try something out of these formulas. It doesn't look too hard to make, *_crunches_* *_crunches_* especially with all my scientist friends working for the police and some clinic labs."

"Basically, from what I can read, the medications can hypothetically make a *_crunches_* savage vampire tame down. It gives the vampire all the nutrients they need to survive and, at the same time, it nearly suppresses *_crunches_* their senses of taste and smell by 99% or so. Basically, the vampire takes the thing every twenty-four hours, and they never feel the need to eat. Since they don't feel hungry, they don't need to hunt and risk their lives anymore. No need to be led by the instincts of a predator."

"In addition to that, the pills also allow them to wander under the sunlight, though they still need a sunscreen or a lot of covering clothes to protect themselves."

"If that thing works, it could revolutionize the world and save countless lives!"

Upon hearing the comment, Athena made a step forward the detective. "But it works! My mother tested it on one vampire, and it worked!"

Ema frowned at her. "Really?" the detective exclaimed. "Did she test it on more than one subject?"

Athena lowered her head in a nostalgic way. "Actually, only one, and it was her friend, Aura."

A sudden cold chill travelled across Clay's body at the name. He grabbed his hair on the side, almost pulling them out in disbelief. "W-Wait!" the astronaut uttered, his tone shaken by the surprise. "You mean… THAT Aura? Aura Blackquill? The odd girl? She was a v-vampire all along?"

"Yes, the same one," Athena sadly answered. "I… don't know how she managed to keep her sanity intact for all these years without Mom's medications, but I guess… she went to hunt for animals at night or something…"

"Well, actually, I wouldn't say she's quite sane in these days, but she's not crazy either," Clay revealed. "She hates the guts of many of us for no reason, including myself… I was wondering why she'd never get out of the center… Or why she always worked at night. She pretended to be more inspired at night and I thought it made sense, but still…"

"All right," Ema gently interjected into their conversation. "If this works on one, then it probably works on others. Give me… something like a month, no, three weeks before I can sort this out and create something out from these formulas with my friends. I'll make sure your mother's legacy lives again for your sake and everyone else's!"

* * *

Date: December 12th 2027, 2:22 PM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

This was going to be THE big day, at 4PM, at least for Athena, especially.

Her boss and she were going to save her old friend from the certain death penalty that was scheduled to come close to the Christmas day. It appeared that even the chief prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth, whom was rumored to be a close friend to Mr. Wright, was going to prosecute the trial himself. He was a man of truth too, and even he believed in Simon's innocence.

Athena did her best to get prepared for the day, even going as far as trying her own "chords of steel" sessions since 5 this morning, spurting "ATHENA CYKES IS FINE!", nearly waking up everyone in her apartment. She had never felt so good to shout that loud and to bother all around.

Apollo, Trucy and even Clay came to the agency to wish her and their mentor a good luck for the trial. Mr. Wright was the best attorney for that type of trial, and there was no way they could lose. The man knew that behind the gentle but blunt façade of Edgeworth hid a ruthless prosecutor who will do anything to find contradictions to the defenses facts. However, he knew that was the prosecutor's own way to find the truth.

"Hey Clay, shouldn't you go rest at home?" Athena told the astronaut. "I mean, your launch is in three days, and it's going to be a lot of hardships and all!"

"Naan, I'll be okay!" Clay responded. "The center gave me off until the launch day, so I wanna spend it by, well, hunting again!"

"Yeah, and before going to hunt, we'll come and watch your trial from the gallery!" Trucy added with an unnatural joy.

At the same moment, Mr. Wright popped in the agency with an envelope in his hands and lent it to Apollo. "Hey Pollo, a letter for you," the boss unveiled.

Apollo took the envelop and upon examining it, there were no name or address from the sender. He also gave a distraught glare on his boss when the recipient name was not even him, but the agency at whole. He tore the top of it and read the letter. He oddly frowned as he silently read, leading everyone to try taking a peek at it. "Polly, what's the letter about?" Trucy asked out of curiosity.

The older brother gave her the letter, and she decided to read it aloud so everyone could hear what it was about.

"_Dear members of the Wright Anything Agency,_

_I'm sorry if my words are not too good, but I was never a good writer._

_Come meet me at the outskirts of the city, in the abandoned town. There is one church there, and I want to challenge your team. I'm a vampire and I want to avenge my fallen friends who died by your hands._

_Rest assured, I will be alone, but I am confident I can take on all of you._

_We will start the duel when the sun goes down, inside the church, on the night of December 12th._

_Yours truly,_

_EJ_"

This left everyone an awkward silence. "Well, I guess whenever there're some primes to hunt, there's always a hunt session." Trucy sighed.

Apollo sighed along his sister. "I know we shouldn't leave any of them unarmed wandering aimlessly, but I don't feel like going. That 'EJ' guy looks silly, and it might be a trap too."

"I agree, we should just ignore it and check the trial instead!" Clay added.

"No, it's okay!" Athena insisted excitedly. "When there are bad guys on the run, we should go after them! So you should go after that bad vampire! Leave the trial to me and the boss!"

Neither Apollo nor Trucy were motivated about the idea of hunting on such big day, but Clay was a little more than thrilled. He always secretly found trials boring, only waiting for the verdict at the end, but he'd usually accompany his friends for the sake of encouraging them. Now that he got Athena's consent to go for a hunt instead, he was unable to contain his gratification.

In the end, this was going to be another hunting night for three of them.

* * *

Date: December 12th 2027, 7:54 PM  
Place: Abandoned Town, Church

That abandoned town used to be a prosperous town back in the 20th century. However, for economic reasons, the town declared bankruptcy on the verge of the new century, and the only remnants visible in the area were few study but empty buildings and that old lonely church. Nowadays, this town was used as a black market activity area by the day, and rumors were on-going about being a vampire town by the night. It was no wonder that "EJ" person chose that specific town for the "duel".

The road to the town lasted about forty minutes with Mr. Terran's car, and Apollo was still unsure why Trucy insisted to accompany him and his friend in this hunting session. It was not the first time the girl went with them because she wanted to experience the thrill of the hunts, but Apollo guessed that she really wanted to see who EJ exactly was. Stupidly, she also found the name quite catchy, like a "DJ", with only one letter apart.

It was also not the first time they received menacing letters from vampires, but whenever these were not pranks, they'd always managed to kill their prey, easily in fact. That was probably one of the reasons why Trucy felt safe with them, even now.

Clay carefully parked his car in front of the old, small and ravaged church. They entered the place while the dying sun was still faintly shining in the horizon, but they couldn't hear or perceive any soul in this building. Everything inside was covered in dust and dead leaves, with the top of the roof half gone. The young men took all of their precautions so that Trucy stayed between the two, even if the magician still had few knives on her, in case. Thanks to her incessant throwing magic knives tricks, she was able to use them as weapons quite well.

Something picked her attention when she turned her head around, and from afar, a cat meowed at them. "Oh, look, a kitty!" she murmured out, taking a step forward.

"Truce, no!" Apollo shouted as Trucy strayed away from them.

But it was too late. The floor under her gave up. Gravity pulled her down into a newly formed hole, and she couldn't even see the end since it was too dark!

"NO!" both men hollered as they tried to catch her, but with no success. Trucy was too far down below.

Suddenly, they heard a jumping sound making a smooth, windy noise in the level below. At the same time, Trucy felt something catching her then landing on the ground with her to safety.

None of the three even had the time to rejoice when the floor below the two men began to quickly give in, and it was their own turn to fall together. Unfortunately, the mysterious wind couldn't catch them on time and both hit the floor with their legs first, and both were injured on one ankle. Worried, Trucy ran to them, not even minding who or what exactly caught her on her fall. "Polly, Clay! Are you all right?" she cried.

The basement would be pitch dark if it wasn't for the now bigger hole from the floor above their head. It was to their fortune the ceiling wasn't that high, but it was still out of their reach. "We're fine," Apollo mumbled while dusting himself. "But now, we seem to be stuck here."

In his slight wounded state, Clay began checking his equipment in his bag, and, how unlucky, all of their three thermal lenses were broken with the fall. They'd have to stay under the remaining light to see what was happening because everything else around them was pitching black. "Well, I guess our thermal lenses are kaput," Clay gloomily muttered.

The two men stood up, but Apollo was especially badly hurt with his new sprain. He hung onto his sister who helped him stay on his two feet. "Damn, that wasn't part of the plan!" the brother yelled out in frustration. "We need to find the stairs and get out of this mess!"

_Oh, is okay. I lead you to stair._

Wait, who said that? The mysterious voice's tone sounded like a young teen… The men turned to Trucy, but she raised her shoulders, clueless. "I didn't say anything!" she exclaimed out.

Finally, someone revealed themselves under the weak light, but to their surprise, it was a young, blond boy, wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. Who'd wear sunglasses in a pitch black basement? With his fast reflexes, Clay pointed the gun at the kid, and this one yelped in fear, covering his head and almost crying.

"No, no, no, I good guy, no hurt you!" the boy uttered with a shuddering tone with an unusual accent. "Please believe me! I save… girl from fall!"

So the boy was the one who caught Trucy mid-air? Wait a minute; no human could possibly achieve this feat! That meant…

"Are you a vampire?" Clay hostilely asked, scaring the boy even more.

"…" the boy was hesitant to reply, but he finally admitted the truth. "Yes, yes, but I good vampire! Please!"

"Clay…" Apollo finally decided to speak, and Clay noticed he was directing his attention on his golden bracelet. "I think the boy's telling the truth… and he really saved Trucy. We should be thankful."

The lawyer returned his concern on the scared vampire boy. "What's your name?"

Seeing how one of the three humans was trusting him, he gave away a weak, sincere smile. "I'm Machi Tobaye. Not very good with your language, but… I hear human above and hear crack. Ground crack, so I save girl, but I can no save you two in time… I'm sorry…"

"It's… quite all right, Machi," Apollo said, and at the same time, Clay finally decided to lower his gun. "You saved Trucy from harm, and that's enough."

"We're searching for someone who calls themselves 'EJ'," Clay told Machi. "Do you know a vampire by that name?"

"EJ? No, I not know… Sorry."

"How boring, I guess it was just a prank, then," Trucy sighed at the answer. "We should totally go back to the agency and have some festivities with Athena and the boss for their victory!"

"Yeah, that's a good idea!" Clay exclaimed cheerfully, stretching his arms above.

Content of the moment, Machi made a hand sign for the three to follow him in the dark. "I can see in dark, stair that way. You follow m-"

An abrupt, invisible thing violently shoved the boy away and sent him flying against the other side of the basement, straight back into the darkness. His body made a thud sound when he hit the dusty ground. Picking up on their reflexes, both Apollo and Clay quickly directed their gun ready toward the shadow that caused the boy's misfortune.

"Machi!" Trucy called the boy, worried about him, but fortunately, vampires were made sturdy since he immediately stood up with no injuries.

The young men shot aimlessly at the shadow but they could sense it moving too rapidly like a slender predator surrounding them in the dark. They were unable to see where exactly it was running. "Machi!" Apollo yelled out in the spur of the moment. "Get Trucy to safety far from here, NOW!"

The boy nodded in agreement and caught the girl in his arms as she let out a quick whimper from the sudden move. Swift like the wind, Machi, with Trucy holding him by the neck, ran to the stairs, leaving behind the two young men fighting the invisible shadow.

To their surprise, the shadow didn't appear like it wanted to attack them, but rather to toy with their aim in a derisive manner.

"You! Are you EJ?" Clay howled out at the shadow in frustration.

To their stupefaction, the shadow, while still moving fast, answered the astronaut with a soft sounding voice. That was clearly a very young adult male.

_Well, that's not how you greet an elder. No 'Hi'? No 'Good day'? Not even a 'Bonjour'? What kind of generation did the previous generation birth?_

"Elder?" Apollo grunted at the shadow's comment. "You don't even sound old!"

_Ha, ha! It's no wonder, really. I'm an old man, because I am one of these… immortals._

"So you are a vampire! Are you EJ?!" Clay shouted, shooting again at the direction of the voice, but he could only hear the gunshot hitting the wall.

_EJ? Oh, you mean the silly boy who sent that letter to the 'Wright Anything Agency'? What of it? What will you do if that EJ was me?_

There was an awkward silence.

_All right, all right, I admit. I'm indeed the EJ you're searching for, the very same one who sent you that letter. There! Are you happy?_

"Man, that vampire's nuts," Clay sighed in exasperation, still trying to find out where the shadow was, until he noticed his friend Apollo seemed to have strayed away from the only source of light, probably trying to run after the EJ vampire. "Goddamn, shouldn't this vampire run for his life when there are two hunters against one vampire?"

The vampire started laughing hard, and this irritated the hunter even more.

_Ha, ha! Run for my life? Two hunters against one vampire? Are you so sure, Clay Terran?_

Suddenly, Clay jolted at the name. How could this vampire know his name, and especially, his full name? "Y-You know my name?" the astronaut retorted nervously, and now he was feeling a little scared.

EJ ignored his plea.

_I find it funny that you worry about me when you should be the one to worry about yourself. What do you think, Apollo Justice?_

Clay's heart pulse suddenly fastened in fear again. "W-What? He knows your name too?" he exclaimed, his voice now trembling as he turned to Apollo, but once again, his friend was still invisible in the dark.

However, his exclaim was greeted by silence. He soon realized that Apollo had stopped speaking since about a minute or so. It petrified him further. "A-Ap-Apollo?" Clay called out again, nearly dropping his gun from the shivers.

To his relief, his friend was finally standing back into the light.

Except this time, like a ghost, Apollo's eyes were devoid of life, and his hand was holding his gun, aiming it directly toward his own friend.

He shot.

…

What… was happening?

There Clay was, clutching his hands against his bleeding stomach, trying to call out for his friend again. He was in a state of a potent pain and total confusion, and because of this, no words were able to escape his weakened lips. He could only mutter few painful moans and grunts, feeling the bullet inside him whenever he moved a little. His legs were starting to fail him, but, in a sheer of tiny hope, he gripped against Apollo, _his shooter_, to ask for his help_._ Yet, his friend made absolutely no effort to back away or to even help him; he simply continued to stare at his wounded friend, his gun now released from his hand, falling on the floor in a loud, short ruckus.

In his last attempt to stay on his feet, Clay finally fell, his back brutally hitting against the dusty solid wood under him. He ended on the side, his eyes still fearfully glancing at Apollo who was watching him like a ghost, never moving from his spot.

_That's why you should never trust anyone, Clay, not even your best friend. They… could turn against your back at any time. Right, Apollo?_

It was at this very moment the shadow finally revealed himself under the faint light, standing just beside a still motionless Apollo. Like a startling revelation, Clay immediately recognized the vampire.

He was the very same vampire from the People Park, the one who looked like his best friend.

Feeling the adrenaline rushing through his veins, Clay managed to whisper few words. "Y-You… I-I've seen you… last month… in the park…"

"So you remember," EJ commented, and strangely, the expression on the young vampire appeared serene, almost soothing. He was smiling at him like an angel. "It was all thanks to you that everything came back to me, that I knew… he was still alive."

"… Apollo?" the dying young man murmured.

"Yes, the very same one, Apollo Justice. But, poor Clay, how confused you look! So let me tell you about a neat, little power that we, vampires, have. Unfortunately, many of us cannot use it and for a good reason. But I can."

"A-Are you s-sp-special?"

EJ gave away a shy laugh. "Not really. You might think I'm like those broken characters in fan fiction stories written by hungry writers, needing to make their original characters with the most powerful and invincible features that no other characters have, but no. I don't have any more power than your average vampire."

"No, actually a vampire only needs a direct offspring, a child of their own blood. It doesn't matter if the child is a vampire or a human. It will work as long as the child holds the blood given by the parent turned into a vampire, because, you can guess it, a vampire cannot breed! But they could in their human lives!"

Clay's sanity was too much to bear with the pain and the misperception killing his mind, but he tried his best to link everything together whenever the young vampire spoke.

"Maybe you guessed what the power is, but the vampire parent can take mental control of their child! Isn't that great? So if a parent is getting annoyed by their little brat, all they can do is a snap on their finger, and voilà! An obedient, soulless child, devoid of free will who will completely obey every orders given by their parents! And the parents don't even need to speak their orders out loud! That's even more awesome!"

Clay finally made the connections. No, that vampire couldn't be serious.

But it wasn't the worse that was coming. As soon as EJ finished his last sentence, he revealed his terrifying fangs with his mouth wide open while letting out a beastly hiss. He then proceeded to… bite into Apollo's neck.

The latter one offered absolutely no resistance…

"A-Apollo!" Clay hollered, doing his best to be loud, but the pain prevented him from shouting further.

The shock seemed to have awakened his friend from his hypnotic slumber and he winced in pain. EJ released the bitten hunter and made him fall on the top of his wounded friend, causing Clay to accidentally vomit a splatter of blood on Apollo's clothes when the body hit his own.

"Clay," the vampire called peacefully but sarcastically, deliciously licking the remaining warm blood on his fangs. "Don't waste your energy to talk. Your wound is painful, but if you keep your energy, you'll survive. And aside, little Pollo will be sad to see you go sooner than expected."

A severely weakened Apollo was holding the bleeding bite mark on his neck, attempting to stop the bloodstream. When his gaze met his friend's, he couldn't help but call him. "C-Clay…"

Naturally, gently holding Apollo's head between his palms, EJ turned his victim's face to his own direction, observing the attorney's expression more carefully. He was deeply staring into his eyes, and Apollo was unable to avoid his.

"Hey Pollo, do you remember me?" the vampire softy asked, still gently clinging the sides of his head.

Apollo did his best to toss him, but he couldn't. "G-Go away…"

EJ feebly backed away with a protest. "What?" the vampire furiously started. "Don't you dare to speak to your elder like that!"

The two wounded young men finally closed their eyes in despair when they knew they had lost the fight, and what was coming became even harder to acknowledge, especially for Apollo.

"I guess there's no point into hiding this anymore," EJ replied with a much more blissful expression on his face, grinning like a happy kid on Christmas day. "I am… the husband of the magician extraordinaire and marvelous, talented hunter Thalassa Gramarye!"

"My name is Eros Justice!"

* * *

_**Author's note:**__ I was wondering, has someone actually guessed who that vampire was as they read? :c_


	16. A Terrifying Change

_So we're finally approaching the prologue story from the very first part of this fic!_

_I can't write otaku language or Simon Blackquill._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 15: A Terrifying Change**

Date: December 12th 2027, 9:44 PM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Entrance

In the end, Trucy had asked Machi to bring her to the agency, excitedly wishing to hear about the verdict for Simon's retrial. She made sure to text her brother about her current whereabouts or else he'll find their condo empty of her. Her thoughts were wandering around in confusion, thinking about the "duel" between Clay, Apollo and that new vampire whom she supposed was that EJ guy. Seconds later, she'd take a look at Machi and think how cute the boy was, not in the love way, but as a cute little kid who needed to get his cheeks pinched.

Until she realized the little boy was a vampire. What… if he was hungry?

While Machi was still holding her in his arms in front of the agency door, Trucy decided to go with the straight question. "Hey, Machi, are you hungry?"

Behind the sunglasses he was wearing, Trucy swore she saw his eyes widen at the question with a raising eyebrow. "Huh, no, I eat small dog before," he casually answered.

"What?! How awf-" she gasped at the answer but she immediately cut herself. At first, she wondered how this boy could eat such cute little dogs. But on her second thoughts, perhaps it was better to suck the blood of a little dog rather than another human... "Oh, nevermind! I'm glad to see… you won't eat me instead!" Machi gave out a small, innocent laugh at Trucy's comment.

Soon after Machi released her from his arms, Trucy opened the door, but to her surprise, neither Athena nor Mr. Wright were back from the trial. It must have been a long trial. The vampire boy was uncertain to enter the place, but Trucy insisted for him to come since he saved her from harm.

She let him sit on the office sofa, but the discomfort struck the kid when he looked around in disbelief. He was inside the firm of hunters and hunting equipment were scattered all around! What if… the girl will use a weapon on him? No, she wouldn't; he trusted her, and she appeared to trust him too!

Trucy sat down beside him, smiling and cheering on the worried boy. She was curious about this mysterious vampire who appeared as gentle as a cherub. Actually, he really looked like a cherub, with his frilly white but stained clothes and bright blond hair. Now he'd only need a pair of white wings, a bow and some heart shaped arrows to complete the kit.

"So, you don't look like you're from this country!" Trucy started the conversation, wanting to know more about him. "What are you doing here?"

Machi took a long breath. "Huh, I go around world. I teach bitten human, new vampire, how to keep mind, so new vampire not go evil and eat human, because eat human is evil."

"Wow! So you're in some kind of missionary mission to help new vampires?" the girl exclaimed.

"Y-Yes," the boy replied, seemingly shy but looking at Trucy gave him more smiles than necessary. The human girl seemed so good at making him feel comfortable like he was at home. "Machi teach new vampire to accept new life, keep mind. I get help many year before so now I want help too."

"Huh? Many years before? How old are you?"

"Hum, I think… Born in 1942 in my country Borginia, bitten in 1956. Was sad, but now Machi happy to help!"

"Wow, so you were only fourteen? That must have been awful for you! And now you're pretty old too! And, where is Borginia exactly? I haven't heard of the place."

"Oh, it is small country in Europe! Beautiful country, but strict rules! Machi prefer here!"

"How fun! I'd like to go there someday!" Trucy cheered in the end, until Machi brought up another subject.

"You worry about brother Apollo and friend Clay?"

She jolted at the names. How could she actually forget about them in the moment? They might be still fighting the evil vampire as of now, or maybe they killed him already. Either way, that'll end up in a great result! "I'm not worried!" Trucy revealed, her face beaming with pride and hope. "Apollo and Clay are top notch hunters, and they are always back near midnight! If not, they come back no later than 3 AM, so I'm not worried! And it's only about 9:50 PM now!"

Seeing the cheery expression on the girl gave Machi more confidence about the humans he feared so much. He was glad to see few of them understanding him for being different and that not all vampires were evil, instinctive creatures.

However, he knew like he couldn't stay here forever. Even if Trucy was a good person, vampires and humans couldn't live together, not with their differences. "Machi must go…" the boy said with a sad smile.

"Awww, but it's fun discussing with you!" the girl insisted, but she understood the boy. "Well, you know where I work, so visit us sometimes! And thank you for saving me!"

Machi nodded and sent her a hand before he disappeared from the door, and Trucy happily waved back at him.

The vampire boy was glad to be trusted by another human. Because of that, he promised himself to check on the two other hunters. He made his way to the abandoned town once again, hoping the result of the duel will be a positive one for the humans.

* * *

Date: December 12th 2027, 8:39 PM  
Place: Abandoned Town, Church

"My name is Eros Justice!"

The name echoed through Apollo ears, ringing like incessant bells, making it hard to dig into his own memories. He swore he heard the name once long years ago…

Then he remembered. His mother's laptop.

There was an old photograph in the desktop background, with his mother, Uncle Zak and Uncle Valant. And there was an unknown fourth young man beside his mother. Yes… he recalled when he asked Uncle Zak about that mysterious one.

_Hey Zak, who's that guy over here?_

_Ah… Apollo, that's your father, Eros Justice._

The very same Eros Justice from the photograph was standing in front of them. He had barely changed in appearance ever since.

It… couldn't be! He had heard many exploits of his father! Except for that one time with Zak, the adults never mentioned his name or even showed any pictures, save for that one he accidentally stumbled upon on taking his mother's laptop. Also, he heard about his heroic death! So how was the dead man able to stand here, smiling when he had just bitten his own… _son_?

"You… can't be…" Apollo muffled, still unable to move around with the pain which travelled across his spine, feeling the excruciating modifications that went through and through inside him.

To his fear, he knew he was changing into… one of them.

"Of course I can be!" Eros retorted teasingly.

Oddly, right there, the changes inside him seemed to have slightly slackened down, allowing him to mutter softer, clearer words. "Mom told me you've been killed… by another vampire…"

To that, the young vampire virtually winced in frustration, crossing his arm in dissent. "And how exactly did she know this? Did Thalassa actually witness my 'death'?"

When Eros sank a hand inside his pocket, his anger gradually faded away when he took out a small, worn picture Apollo couldn't see. From the next words that escaped the vampire's lips, it appeared to be some kind of old photograph of his mother. "Ah, Thal," Eros smoothly began, bringing the photograph closer to his eyes. "Not only she was the most beautiful girl to my knowledge, but she had the soul of an angel. Well, except the fact that she was a hunter hunting for vampires, but… I guess it was a different story in the human world."

Putting back the photograph in his pocket, Eros sat down close the wounded young men, not even making an effort to restraint the two. He knew they couldn't move very well right now and even less flee the place. He peacefully smiled at them, and then proceeded to take a long breath before he began a long tale.

"Apollo," Eros softly called like he was speaking to a sleeping toddler. "Let me tell you… our story… It started with your mother."

"Thalassa never liked to be part of the Gramarye Troupe, especially not with her father Magnifi who considered her his own possession. Also, his two henchmen, Shadi and Valant, were a little too protective over her. And then, one day, we met. I was a guest performer for one of their shows, but I was also practicing my hunting skills with Thalassa. I… didn't love her at first since, you know, falling in love with your boss's daughter wasn't exactly the prettiest thing to do… But eventually, I gave in to her charms."

"Then one day, we were having a little party, and… we probably drank a little too much, and we… did it, just like that. Sometimes, it only takes a first time, and there, she bore you. It was a silly young age mistake since we were both only seventeen at the time... Devastated, Thalassa didn't really want her father and his two apprentices to know your existence inside her. She didn't know what to do, because your grandfather was strictly against having children outside marriages."

"She told her father she wanted to leave him and the troupe as her last desperate resort, but Magnifi told her she could only leave when she'll marry a man. And, stupidly, she married me on the spot, declaring herself to be my wife in front of her father and I, just like that. It was… quite an awkward moment, but at least we really loved each other! We left the troupe after our quick and unofficial wedding."

"Not long after you were born, without her family to know of course, we moved to Borginia and started a new life over there. We were a happy little family, and I felt like the happiest father in the universe."

"I still remember the first time I held my little newborn; I cried for hours."

"I was the father of a beautiful son…"

Somehow, this sweet, little story made Apollo feel like vomiting. How could such a loving father like him fall so much deep below in this level of insanity? No loving parent wished this to their children. So why?

"But life has its up and down. When you were about ten months old, one of these… creatures managed to make his way to our home… I ordered Thalassa to get away from the place with you and she did, while I was trying to fend off the monster."

"He managed to bite me."

"But as I was losing my life to him, I… took a knife and plunged it into his skull. He died, but… I guess I passed out."

"When I woke up, I had no idea how much time had passed. It seemed to have been few days, but Thalassa was gone, you were gone. And I knew it was too late when I felt my fangs, my newly developed senses, and I felt… my hunger…"

"I wanted to see my wife and my son at least one last time before I'll kill myself… But I searched and searched… The more the clock ticked, the more my humanity faded away. I knew I was losing myself to the mind change and the primal instincts when I couldn't control my hunger anymore, so I finally decided to kill myself."

"However, a kid found me just before I was going to let myself fall down from a high cliff. She cried to me, to not do it. She didn't seem to know about my condition though."

"The hunger kicked in. It controlled me. I devoured the kid."

"And I took the sweetest pleasure in doing so. It was so appeasing to have my hunger satiated. The taste, the warm feeling of the blood flowing through my fangs, my mouth, my face… How cathartic it felt!"

Apollo shivered to the story. He didn't want to hear anymore. He didn't care about his father's history or what happened to him. He just wanted to return home, living his usual life, seeing his sister Trucy, having fun with Clay, working with Mr. Wright and Athena… He tried to cover his ears, but… he could still hear everything.

"I knew, ever since I had my first prey, I'll have to find you and your mother to join the fun of this new life, to be reborn a greater being, to enjoy these new senses. Unfortunately, I couldn't find you anywhere. I searched Borginia, then the whole Europe, then the rest of the world. I never imagined she'd bring you back in this country she hated so much."

"I forgot how and when I even came back here, but one day I was found by your friend Clay. As soon as he saw my face and called your name, thinking I was you, I knew that a certain Apollo Justice was still alive nearby. That was when I started making searches over the Internet and I learned where you work. That was also how I found the full name of your friend too. So you became a defense attorney and a hunter. You're pretty good!"

"Now that I look at you and your mother's bracelet, I can confirm you are indeed the son I had lost since twenty-three long years. I'm glad I won't be alone anymore."

Like a creeper, Eros slowly approached his face over Apollo's in an attempt to give another careful examination. Apollo hostilely snatched his father's hands to throw it away, but he was too weakened to attempt another time. Eros moved up his son's upper lips and grinned at him.

"How convenient," the young father smiled. "Your fangs are ready for action." And suddenly, he turned his attention to the other wounded one, almost forgotten in this one-sided discussion.

Clay was half-listening to the entire thing since he was too busy trying to contain the bleeding that didn't stop from the gunshot. He probably didn't have more than an hour or so to live. In his deteriorating state, he tried to look at Apollo who could do nothing but feel sorry for Clay as he murmured his name. "C-Clay… I'm so sorry…"

"That'd be a waste if your best friend were to die because you shot him, son."

Revolted, Clay used his last bits of energy to protest. "N-No… A... pollo never shot… me… Y-You did…"

That was when Clay saw them again: the ghostly, empty eyes in his friend's gaze. Apollo was being controlled once more. Clay wanted to curse this power, but there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

"I have an idea!" Eros cheerfully exclaimed, shifting his attention back to Apollo, once again. "Why don't I give you the honor to save your friend Clay from death? To redeem yourself for shooting him?"

Clay was getting desperate. This couldn't end here! Apollo didn't deserve this fate for having such a cruel, insane father. What about himself? The launch to space, his dream, he was going to live it in three days! And there he was, clutching his hands on his gun wound, trying everything to stop the painful bleeding. His life will probably be ending in this creepy, isolated town. He was going to miss everyone… his friends at the space center, his little family in the Wright Anything Agency, his father…

And for the first time in years, he cried of sadness.

"No… No… P-Please, A-Apollo… don't…" Clay sobbed as Apollo methodically opened his mouth close to his neck, revealing his pointy teeth.

It was too late. Apollo's newly formed fangs smoothly sank into his skin, his friend slowly swallowing a bit of his delicious warm blood until darkness surrounded both of them. They passed out together.

* * *

Date: December 12th 2027, 10:16 PM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Entrance

Normally, Trucy should have been asleep at this time and she should have returned home by now (after all, tomorrow was the start of her last school week of the year!). Yet, she really wanted to now the verdict of the trial. It was an important one, especially to Athena, since she became an attorney particularly for this very day. And she trusted the skills of Mr. Wright for saving Simon from the death penalty. It was their last chance!

She texted her brother with her phone few times ever since she was back in the city, but she had yet to get a reply from him. She furtively muttered in her mind that Polly should stop putting his phone on silent mode like he always did in every hunt sessions. He pretended it was to avoid any kind of distraction during sessions, but he always forgot to put it back into a non-silent mode. Seeing no response from him, she decided to try with Clay instead, but she swore those two men were secretly twin brothers or something; the astronaut had the same habit of forgetting to put sounds back.

Having nothing else to do, she decided to watch TV, and, like every Sunday nights, there was nothing interesting. She stumbled upon a reality-show displaying stories about young teen mothers and their pregnancy troubles. Watching the show made her so glad that she was still all right at her tender age of sixteen!

Just when she was about to feel like having a beer in secret (she was technically not legal, but she wanted to try the thing!), she stood in front of the fridge. Suddenly, the entrance door opened and she quickly hid the bottle back, switching it with a grape juice instead, grinning at the newcomers. Her expression beamed with joy when she noticed they were Mr. Wright and Athena. Her smile widened further when she realized both of them were looking happier than usual.

"So, what's the verdict?" Trucy asked, closing the fridge door.

Athena had few visible dried tears on her cheeks, and she went to give a fast, surprised hug to Trucy who jumped at the move, nearly dropping the juice bottle. "Simon's innocent!" the junior attorney screamed with bliss. Mr. Wright soon joined the fun with the girls, but he appeared to have sweated a lot during the trial. His clothes were somehow soaked (maybe he had been very nervous in this life or death trial!), which Trucy found a little disgusting, but at least it didn't smell, thankfully.

Surprisingly, another one arrived behind Mr. Wright, and he was none other than the man himself, Simon Blackquill. Life seemed to have returned on the former inmate, and he was no more wearing those heavy shackles. For once, he was smiling, for real. "Mr. Blackquill!" Trucy called the man loudly as she went to him.

The tall man gently grinned at her. "Enigmar-dono, you look well."

Trucy winced in disapproval at the new nickname she was just given. "Huh, call me Trucy!" she insisted, smirking.

"All right, Trucy-san," the man responded.

* * *

The following hour in the agency was a little celebration with some leftovers from the previous dinner and few beers (to which Mr. Wright forbad Trucy to try, to her dismay, but she was given the grape juice instead). Also, Athena, Mr. Wright and Simon were telling Trucy how the retrial went. Though there were no concrete proof of the exact identity of the murderer, Simon, and even Athena, were proven innocent, thanks to Mr. Wright's bluffs and deductions. The great Phoenix Wright really belonged to the court, it seemed.

While it wasn't the most appealing food for the members of the agency, it was like heaven for Simon, especially when he had prison food for literally more than seven years. Mr. Wright promised some nice, salty Eldoon noodles, but it was already closed by the time they came back to the agency, so they had to get… something else instead.

"So, what are you going to do, Mr. Blackquill?" Trucy asked the man. "Now that you're free, are you going to become an official prosecutor again?"

"Yes, that was my intention," Simon answered. "However, Edgeworth-sama needs to prepare few paperwork before I'll be back on duty. For now, I've decided to join your agency for a little while as an unofficial hunter."

Simon made a pause, and then he smiled again at everyone.

"Cykes-dono told me about your idea how to find Metis's researches, and I'm… grateful for your excellent idea, Trucy-san. Thanks to you, her researches live on, and maybe we'll be able to create a better world now."

"Oh, that was nothing!" Trucy shyly expressed, blushing. "I've learned the backup thing at school, I thought it was common sense!"

When Trucy finished her sentence, suddenly, Athena picked some strange discord from Mr. Wright pulse. The junior attorney turned to him, perplexed. "Huh, boss, what's the matter?"

The mentor embarrassedly brushed behind his hair. "Huh, I was wondering," Mr. Wright started, chuckling timidly. "What's a backup?"

No one said a word for few long seconds, and Trucy snapped them of their silence, yelling at Mr. Wright in shame. "Duh! It's a copy of things, obviously!"

"Boss!" Athena started mockingly along with Trucy. "I knew you were technology-illiterate, but I didn't know you were THAT much! Ah, the 90s kids!"

Suddenly, Simon cleared his throat at Athena's comment.

"Cykes-dono, I'm a 90s kid, and even I know what's a backup."

"Ah-ha!" Trucy exclaimed with her teasing tone, directing her attention on her boss. "So it's just Mr. Wright!"

At this, Mr. Wright felt like hiding his face in awkwardness, and everyone laughed at the moment.

The rest of the night was surely going to go smoothly.

* * *

Date: December 13th 2027, 0:02 AM  
Place: Abandoned Town, Church

The young boy scrutinized the place, and he was surprised the car of the hunters had disappeared. Instead, he found a little cat wandering around the area. Hastily, he caught the animal and feasted on it to satisfy his little hunger. A small cat wasn't enough to cover his hunger for too long, but it will be at least enough for the night, or rather until the next day, for him.

He could sense the faint smell of the two young humans that accompanied Trucy. He tried to follow them, but he realized the route of the smell led him back to the basement of the church, where he had found them all. The horror struck him when he discovered the traces of blood he found on the floor where theirs. However, the bodies were nowhere to be seen, meaning there was a chance they were still alive.

Machi followed the scents again, returning to the spot where the car had been parked. Unfortunately for him, it was impossible to follow the scent of cars, and he realized they must had gone inside it and drove to somewhere.

He did everything to attempt at following the tires traces left by the vehicle, thanks to the dust scattered all around the town, but it was in vain when the traces faded outside the area. When he reached few more miles later on the same road taken by the car, more and more road forks appeared, making search for the two humans virtually impossible.

When he lost them for real, in his resentment, he desperately fell on his knees then he hit the ground with his fists, cursing his inability to check on Trucy's brother and his friend. He yelled out few Borginian profanities along with a roar through the words.

Then, out of nowhere, he recalled the impressive, odd bracelet worn by the older brother.

He swore he saw them before.

* * *

Date: December 13th 2027, 2:15 AM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

In the end, things might not go smoothly as she thought.

Apollo and Clay were still not back.

Everyone were already asleep by now, and because getting out at night was not too safe, everyone decided to stay in the agency for the night, including Simon himself (he had no real home after all, but Athena will let him in her apartment for a while). Mr. Wright was snoring loudly in his own room (the agency was also his home, pretending that having only one rent to pay helped him save money). Athena was sleeping on the main sofa, Simon was laying flat on a thin cover on the floor beside the orange-haired girl, and Trucy was trying to get her own sleep in the office area with bigger covers on the floor.

She had only slept one hour or so, still waiting for her brother and his friend to text her back, but she never got any reply.

After all, it was still not 3 AM, wasn't it? Maybe, just maybe, they decided to celebrate their victory in a drunken bar or stuff, which they sometimes did together. However, when they did, they'd always text her back. Needless to say that this time, they did not.

She closed her eyes, trying once again to slumber along with everyone else, but her concern was always drawn back on her phone beside her. She ceaselessly kept on checking it, deciding to put the sound on maximum in case they replied. However, the only notifications that came were few spam emails from those "enlargement things for guys" or those "girls in the neighbor" wanting to meet her. In frustration, she was about to throw her smart device once, but instead, she sobbed to the point of feeling silly.

She almost yelped of shock when a hand laid on her shoulder from behind. She happily smirked, ready to welcome her brother and his friend back, but she immediately sulked when she realized it was Simon instead. Apparently, her incessant sobs woke him up and she felt sorry for him. "I heard you cry," Simon revealed, smiling at her. "What's the matter?"

Trucy did her best to wipe out the small tears streaming on her face. "Polly and Clay are still not back…" she weakly said with a sniffle. "And they didn't reply my calls and text messages yet."

Even with the analytic psychology on his side, Simon wasn't quite sure how to face that type of reaction. Things were easier with Athena because he knew her. It was also definitely easier in court because he could be harsher with witnesses and accused ones, not even minding the psychological results from the concerned people, whenever it was positive or negative results. But this time, anything he'd tell the girl could make her either happier or sadder, and he really wished it will not be the latter result. Trucy-san didn't deserve this.

"You can try to call him again," Simon tried to comfort her. "It never hurts to try a second time."

The magician snorted one last time before she smiled at him. "Yeah, you're right!" she murmured, her excitement slightly coming back. "And you know what? I'll let the phone ring until I get an answer, even if it takes him four hours to reply!"

* * *

Date: ?  
Place: ?

… So… dark…

When he woke up, everything was completely dark. However, he was abnormally able to distinguish everything in this nearly pitch black room: from the small insects and arachnids that were roaming around them, the small barred window at the top of one wall, and the large metal bars on the opposite of the windowed wall, confining him with no way out. The atrocious smell of the place chilled into his sensitive nostrils, practically causing him to faint again, but with another minute, he was starting to get used to it. Where was he?

He did his best to avoid his stare to his direct opposite, where he could see his unconscious friend Clay hanging by two chains linked to the wall attached around his wrists. His two ankles were also solidly chained to the wall, making his escape impossible. To his surprise, it appeared that the wound on his stomach had closed, like a miracle.

Apollo tried to make a step forward, content to see his friend breathing and alive, but he soon gathered he was being restrained by similar chains, making him unable to move out from his space. He panicked and tried to shout, but a thick, hard cloth was stuffed in his mouth with an attached bandage around his jaw, literally preventing him from speaking. He realized Clay's mouth was shut by the same mean.

It must have been that man's doing… his father…

He growled at the thought.

Then he suddenly grasped that he was _growling_, like an animal, a predator. Wincing at his own disgusting action, he immediately shut himself. No, he wasn't going to give in his humanity, never!

He heard few steps somewhere coming to their cell. Their captor came back and gave them a gentle smile. "Oh, you're awake, little Pollo," Eros calmly exclaimed from the other side of the cell. "I heard you growl. Do you need something?"

Instinctively, Apollo growled again; he already gave up fighting this sudden urge. The only thing he wanted to do right now was to give this man a fierce smack on his grin.

"That's good to hear, son," the young father proudly expressed. "Hearing you growl means your changes are going well. Don't fight the changes; you can't stop them anyway, so you might as well accept them now."

Upon hearing these terrifying words, Apollo aggressively struggled against the chains that were holding him tight. He refused to change and he wanted to get out from this stinking place, away from his so-called father, away from everything.

"Hey! Don't move too much!" Eros yelled out, worried. "You'll hurt yourself!"

After settling down a little, Apollo heavily breathed from exhaustion. He was glaring at his captor once again until he realized Eros was holding his cellphone, probably trying to browse through the device. "This thing's quite interesting," Eros bragged, awe by the phone. "Back in 2004, we didn't have those things, just some old black and white cellphones. And from what your cellphone says, you've gotten few missing calls from a certain Trucy."

Apollo's eyes widened at the name. He was now comprehending the aggravating level of what was happening to them, and that meant they were going to lose everyone they had ever loved. This included his own sister.

_Oh, Trucy, what's going to happen to you, now that I'll be gone?_

"Hmm, from the researches I did, Trucy's your little sister, right?" the vampire questioned. "And there I thought she'd be a girlfriend, a wife or something of the sort. What a bummer!"

This revelation caused the young man to jolt into a sad, depressing realization. "Wait a minute, Apollo… You. Have. A. Sister. That means… Thal was with another man?"

The truth hit the father further when he discovered the last name of his… stepdaughter.

_Enigmar_.

"So, Thalassa married Shadi, I see…" Eros snarled with an ominous expression forming on his face. "Your mother not only abandoned me to my fate… She betrayed me for that man... I wonder where they are now…"

His son dropped his head in grief when Eros mentioned about his mother and uncle. Now the vampire was interested about their whereabouts. Did they die? Did they abandon the kids? He reminded himself to ask Apollo later.

The vibrating device in his hand unexpectedly brought him back to the reality. Eros looked at it with curiosity and realized a new call was being made to his son's phone. The face of a beautiful young teen appeared over the caller's name: Trucy. The father smirked at it, and somehow, seeing the cute, innocent visage of his stepdaughter brought him some curious satisfaction. "So that's how Trucy Enigmar looks like," Eros rumbled. "I'm glad she looks nothing like her father, but I'm impressed how she looks like a younger version of your mother!"

"Should I accept the call or not?" the young man hesitated in a teasing tone. "My voice's similar to yours, Pollo, so I guess I can try answering, just for fun!"

Giving out a soft chuckle, Eros ran away from the cell, still holding the phone firmly in his hand, and he slid a finger on the phone touchscreen to accept the call. To his astonishment, even if his father disappeared from his view, Apollo could distinguish everything in the call, even his sister's voice. Upon hearing her, he frantically shuddered with a small tear.

"Hello?" the vampire answered the call.

"_Polly?_" Trucy's voice replied back.

"Yes, Trucy?"

There was a cry of joy and few whimpers from the other side of the call. "_Waaah! Polly, you're fine!_"

Eros grinned widely. His voice really sounded like his son's. "Aww, of course I'm fine, sweetie pie!"

A short silence took over the conversation, and Eros wondered exactly why. This left him confused.

* * *

Trucy was left speechless. She shivered at her brother's response. _Sweetie pie_? Since when Apollo used these types of sweet words to call her, or even anyone else? There was something off about him.

"Polly, what's the matter?" she finally began to speak, her voice slightly trembling.

"_What's the matter… what?_" the other one replied.

"Where are you guys? I'm sick worried!" Trucy pled her brother.

"_Oh, the usual, sweetie! We're just hanging around and have few beers! We've defeated the vampire and we sold his corpse already!_"

The "sweetie" thing again… "Oh, okay," the younger sister gave in, but she was unable to smile. "But come back soon, okay?"

"_Sure, don't worry, Trucy-dear!_"

No, the one on the other side couldn't be her brother. His voice and his way of speaking was far too odd. Her brother never spoke to her like that, so why would he start now? At least, she really hoped it was the effect of the possible few drinks he might have been taking too much with Clay. But even so, Apollo was never a heavy drinker. To make sure the one on the other side was really her brother or not, she quickly planned something in her mind.

"Hey Polly, before I hang off the line, I need to tell you something great!" Trucy faked her enthusiasm.

"_Yes? What's the great thing?_"

"Billy!"

"_B-Billy?_"

"Billy's retrial went well! He got an innocent verdict! That's so great for him! Now Billy Bob Johns is a free man! Our mentor's so good at lawyering!"

"_Woah! That's so great for Billy! If you see him, tell him me and Clay are happy for him!_"

Her world crumbled before her. She was unable to think straight anymore.

It was not… Apollo on the phone.

"…All r-right," Trucy sniffled, trying to fake her cheerful demeanor the best she could. "Thanks, and see you later, Polly."

"_Good bye, sweetie pie!_"

The link was cut, and the first thing Trucy did was violently shoving her phone on the ground, literally breaking her device and leaving out a long cry of despair.

Her sole family, Apollo, had been taken away from her.


	17. A Fading Humanity

_I actually had fun writing about the mind change parts. It's creepy and stuff. Personally, I find them fascinating in a very frightening way._

_Also, I know the setting for our two prisoners is weird, but don't worry, there won't be any physical torture on them, "kinky" stuff or anything of the sort. If there was, the fic would be rated higher than __**T**__. There's a reason why their captor is doing that… _:c

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 16: A Fading Humanity**

Date: December 13th 2027, 2:29 AM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

Athena and Mr. Wright jumped out from their dreams at the sudden loud ruckus from the office area, and they immediately went after the crashing sound. Athena could make out the sobbing whimpers along the mess and she recognized Trucy's soft whispers. When both attorneys arrived on the scene, they were welcomed by a sad sight of Trucy, her head sank into Simon's wider chest, both gently wrapping their arms around each other into a gloomy hug.

The discord inside Trucy's heart was at her peak.

"What's happening?" Athena anxiously asked.

However, Trucy was unable to speak, still lost in her relentless weeps. Simon did the talking instead. He might have an idea, even though he couldn't clearly hear the other one's response in the previous phone call. "I believe our little girl thinks something happened to Justice-dono."

In her frustration and mix-up, Trucy suddenly pushed Simon out of her way and cried loudly at everyone. "I called his phone, and the one who answered was not even him! Something happened to him! He just pretended to be Polly! It must be that vampire!"

She literally crumbled on the floor, her visage facing the ground as her tears splashed on it. "It's going to be the same story again! Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Valant died to vampires, and now Polly died to vampires!"

Saddened by the mood that had taken over the usually cheerful girl, no one were ready to make a move to soothe her. Yet, soon, Mr. Wright approached her, crouching himself to her level and he gently put a hand on her shoulder. Trucy slowly hovered her head to her mentor's direction and her eyes were still filled with a pool of salty tears with few hiccups following.

"Trucy," Mr. Wright started. His comforting voice was somehow able to appease her soul. "There's no solid proof Apollo's gone yet."

This short sentence suddenly gave her a little hope that her mentor was right; the fate of her brother still remained unknown to this time. "Y-You're right," she mumbled. Her tone was still shaken by her emotions, but the truth had yet to be found. "Polly and Clay m-might still be alive!"

All the three others were relieved to see the girl shifting her state of mind so quickly to a much merrier condition. It was no wonder since the girl had attended so many trials where it took so much time and efforts to find the truth. She was getting used to a world where defense attorneys were able to completely turn the tables around to their favor when all hope was lost, and this was not an exception.

"You know," Athena cheerfully began. "Maybe Apollo just lost his phone and someone found it, and that someone was making a prank or something! It's still one possibility! You know how people can be stupid, don't you?"

"Yeah…" Trucy murmured, her eyes beaming with light once again, but then she realized another reality. "But Clay didn't reply to me…"

"Didn't you tell us you guys fell down in a basement?" Mr. Wright spoke again. "Maybe Clay broke his phone or something in the fall, a high possibility to me."

"Yes, yes!" Trucy exclaimed, and this time, her quirky personality was starting to get noticeable on her.

Taking a long breath over the scene, Simon interjected in their conversation. He had an idea in his mind. "Trucy-san," he called, giving her a smile. "We'll call the police for their help. In addition to that, if you give me the pictures of Terran and Justice-dono, I'll send it to all my hunter friends. That way, we'll have a much better chance to find them. I'll even call Taka, just for you. Hawks have great piercing eyes, and he'll find them in no time."

She felt some more tears blurring her sight, but this time, she was more than overjoyed by the words everyone gave her. As long as there was no proof of her brother and friend's definite disappearance, there was hope.

And she suddenly felt like a cheesy girl when she welcomed everyone inside her tiny arms for a long, group hug.

"Thanks, guys! You're the best of the bests!" she cried, laughing.

* * *

Date: December 13th 2027, 8:51 AM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Entrance

"I got Herr Blackquill's message this morning. I came as soon as I could, though my partner Daryan insisted on coming too."

"Heh, it's not like I've got nothing else to do, Klav! You cancelled all the next shows, and I've got no case to work on, so better have something to do in the meanwhile."

Even if Trucy did not sleep at all since the call, she was more than glad to see Klavier back in her life, even if it was in the midst of her life's crisis. And, secretly, ever since her friend became a famous rock star, she slightly liked him even more; not that she'll ever admit it publicly. She went to give the German-wannabe a hug as soon as he entered the door, nearly interrupting the conversation Klavier was having with his other band member.

"Fräulein!" Klavier called his old friend, kindly holding Trucy for few seconds before he released her on the floor. "I heard for Herr Forehead and Herr Terran, and trust me, Daryan and I will do anything to find them back."

"Yeah," Klavier's friend, that Daryan guy, spitted out in a slight annoyance. "The faster we find your brother, the faster we return to show business, baby!"

Soon, Mr. Wright came back from his room, his dark bags under his eyes appearing a little more obvious than everyone else. He was the one who got calls from everywhere, including the police, other hunters and a worried Mr. Terran when he learned about his son's unsure whereabouts. Even the Space Center had to call him about Clay since the launch was going to happen in two days! Of course, the launch to the moon won't occur if the main pilot disappeared! The fact alone that Apollo and Clay were still not back at this time of the day meant something really happened to them, but no one was going to lose their hope, not as long as their bodies weren't found.

Mr. Wright was soon joined by Athena and Simon, and the former inmate appeared to have more good news. "Most of the hunters I texted are willing to help," Simon revealed. "So whenever they find your brother and his friend, they'll leave me a call."

"So what's the plan? We need to do something!" Athena cheered on everyone.

Mr. Wright stroke his chin at the question. "Well, Trucy, I think you should first return to school. It's a school day and an exam week after all, and your brother will be angry if he finds out you're skipping classes."

Trucy sulked at the comment. "Hey! There's no way I'll be able to concentrate at school!" she objected, imitating the lawyers with a pointing finger.

"I… agree with Trucy," Athena intervened. She knew the discord in the girl's heart was still too strong as much as she tried to hide it. "I'll stay with her; she'll be in need of friends in these times!"

"Thanks, Athena! I'll need that!" the magician cheerfully cried out.

"Err, all right, all right!" Mr. Wright replied with awkwardness. "I think Simon and I will try searching on day times, and maybe Prosecutor Gavin and his friend will do this on night times. What do you guys think?"

"Ha, giving us the dangerous times? Thanks, Mr. Lawyer! I like that!" Daryan mocked the attorney's words.

"Don't worry about us, Herr Wright," Klavier commented. "Daryan and I are top notch hunters, and we'll be safe in the search, trust us. We promise to bring the two guys safe and sound."

With so many people searching for her brother and his friends, her hopes were high. Deep in her heart, she felt so happy to see many willing for her cause. Her faith in humanity was suddenly restored.

* * *

Date: ?  
Place: ?

Clay finally opened his eyes.

Apollo didn't know how much time had passed ever since they were stuck in that creepy old cell. He did his best to sleep all the time, or at least close his eyes as an attempt to forget everything that was happening to them. It must have been few days at least.

Just like when the attorney first opened his eyes, Clay was struck in a state of panic when he discovered he was being chained, and soon he noticed his friend chained in the same manner. His eyes widened in fear when Clay tried to call Apollo, even with his mouth wide open with a cloth filling inside, blocking his voice. The brunette, having been conscious since much longer, didn't even flinch at his friend's panic, and Clay could feel the despair and defeat in his eyes. He was afraid Apollo was losing himself.

Even while being chained tightly in this cell, Clay could feel them too: his newly acquired senses, his fangs and his… hunger. So, he was changing too in the end.

However, he swore to himself that he'll fight the changes tooth and nail, no matter what will happen! For his own sake, and for his friend's sake!

He tried to call Apollo again with his muffled voice and got a small reaction. Apollo slightly shifted his low head toward Clay's direction, staring at him with half-closed eyes with the same despair he saw earlier. Their eyes crossed for few seconds before Apollo shut them; the astronaut could deduce the meaning of that gaze.

Apollo was feeling sorry for what he did to Clay; for shooting him and for biting him. He felt like he was the sole cause of his friend's fate.

_It wasn't your fault, Apollo… I hope you realize it…_

Clay directed his stare toward the barred window, and he could see it was nighttime. The stars were bright and clear. This meant they were far away from their city, outside the light pollution area.

Wait a minute. The stars… the sky…

The launch!

No! He was going to miss the launch to space! This was going to be his big day! He needed to return to the Space Center at once! He needed to live his dreams of going to space, to explore the unknown, to make new discoveries on the moon, for the sake of humanity, for the future of astronomy!

His dream! He must keep up with it! He had worked his butt his entire life to live it up! How did he end up… here instead? So close to his life goal… Why had fate been so… unfair to them?

"Clay, you're awake!"

The astronaut jolted at the voice. Had Apollo managed to take off the cloth from his mouth? Wait, that voice…

No, so that was… him.

The disappointment hurt his soul when he noticed the cursed vampire outside the bars, watching him like he was some type of live curiosity. "Yeah, took you few days to wake up, boy!" Eros declared, his hands hidden inside his pockets, giving the astronaut a kind smile. "I guess it took you longer since you lost lot of blood from the gunshot, but you appear well now. Good thing you saved him, huh, Pollo?"

Watching the weak attorney letting out a quiet vengeful growl, suddenly Clay felt the urge to imitate his friend in this bestial move toward their abductor. The horror hit him when he found the entire situation normal, like… he had growled like an animal his whole life.

"Well, I think I've been kinda cruel to both of you, kids. Speaking is part of the fun, so I guess I'll take out these clothes from your mouths. Also, it's not like humans will hear you here."

"Even if they hear you, all they'll find in this cell will be two easy bounties to be killed and sold…"

Eros unlocked the door and, naturally, he went after his son first. He carefully unknotted the tight cloth and as soon as it started to loosen up, Apollo let out huge, ceaseless breaths. It was like the air was lighter all around him. He attempted to form words, but his mouth had been in the same position for so long he couldn't even fully shut his mouth. Instead, he was still heavily panting, the water behind his lips drooling from all sides. This still went on when Clay was also freed of the cloth, but it seemed to have slightly less impact on the raven-haired man since he had been unconscious the entire time.

Satisfied, Eros made his way out of the cell and locked the door behind him. It actually took few minutes before one of them started speaking. "W-Whyy a-a-arrre yoou doooing thiiis?" Clay sluggishly mumbled, still trying to get used to moving lips again.

"I told you kids already," Eros bluntly answered. "I want you to join the pleasure of being reborn better, isn't that enough?"

"W-We nev-never as-a-ask f-f-f-fooor thiss…" Apollo protested with a weak tone, doing his best to sound coherent.

An unexpected, loud laugh escaping the vampire's mouth echoed through the prison. "I never asked for this either," Eros admitted. "But that's what every ones of us say at first. But don't worry, soon enough, you'll embrace your new life, and there's no way you can resist the changes."

"I'm pretty sure by now, you're both feeling hungry, am I right?"

Right at the "hungry" word, both captives began shivering at the very thought of being hungry, because Eros was right, they really were. However, what horrified them more was not the single fact of being hungry, but by the fact that they couldn't think of anything else but how pleasant the feeling of having… blood… flowing through their mouth must be…

It appeared their new bestial instincts were starting to take over…

"Yet, I know you're still not ready for a meal," Eros confessed. "I still see too much human in you both. Give it like few more days, and you'll be ready, trust me!"

The mischievous tone of the vampire revolted the two young men so much they both let escape an impulsive, loud snarl at him at the same time, causing their captor to widen his smile. He backed away from their cell, making another last request before he disappeared. "You should think about what you're going to do when I'll let you guys out!"

This silenced the two prisoners, trembling at the thought of being free from their chains… as full pledged vampires.

No, they won't go on mindless killing sprees! It won't happen!

Apollo and Clay waited until they couldn't hear the young man's steps anymore, which took a while because of their new enhanced hearing sense. With their mouth now freed, Clay gazed at Apollo who seemed to be particularly ashamed and destroyed by all of this. After all, he had finally met his father who was nothing more than a twisted, psychotic vampire, and Apollo himself was so convinced to be the cause of Clay's suffering.

"Apollo…" Clay finally called his friend, managing to express a half-smile. "Don't… blame yourself. I know you feel bad for dragging me into this, but it's not your fault. Believe me."

"C-Clay…" Apollo responded back with a raspy voice. "I-I know, but… he's my f-father…"

"You don't need to feel attached to him!" the astronaut objected. "You don't even know him! And technically, he's physically younger than you, for god's sake!"

"I know, damnit! I don't feel any attachment to him!" the attorney desperately complained. "But… as long as he's being close to me, I can't go against him, and you know why… You saw me… did those things to you…"

Once again, Apollo dropped his head on the side, not wanting to look at his friend anymore. "Eros's right on more things too," the brunette dreadfully continued. "Eventually, if he keeps us chained that way, with no way to even grab one of those smelly rats to… eat, our humanity will… I mean, you remember Athena's mother's researches, don't you?"

"Yeah," the raven-haired man added, looking even more anxious from the answer he was going to give himself. "The thing saying that newly reborn vampires need to keep themselves fed on animals' blood to keep their sanity and avoid hunting on humans?"

"There you go, now we know the reason why Eros chained us," Apollo continued. "We can't even snatch on those roaming rodents to keep us fed and quenched… And with no way to use our hands and feet, we can't even possibly kill ourselves over the changes… Eventually, the hunger will take over our… humanity… So we might as well… accept our fate now and see the good sides of the changes, which will minimize our misery, I think…"

Outraged, Clay frowned at his friend. "You can't say that, Apollo! We can go through this together! We just have keep talking about our old lives, and I'm sure we'll be able to keep our humanity intact! We're both proud hunters, and there's no way we'll succumb to the instincts of vampires!"

Frantically, Apollo quickly nodded, his teeth gritting at the thought of few painful, yet pleasant memories. He tried to recollect all of them so he couldn't forget anything. He reminded himself of all the wonderful people he had met in his life.

His grandfather, his mother, his two uncles, Mr. Gavin, Klavier, Mr. Wright, Athena… Clay…

…his sister…

"T-Trucy…" he sorrowfully murmured as he looked to the window.

"Then it's settled!" Clay exclaimed, trying to sound optimist. "Let's speak about Trucy!"

* * *

Date: December 15th 2027, 9:02 AM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Living Room

It was official.

Trucy and Athena were watching the news channel together. Information about the cancelled launch at the renowned Space Center spread like a wildfire when the young astronaut Mr. Clay Terran never showed up. Words that he, along with a nameless friend, disappeared three days ago. Trucy did not hide her madness at the news when they didn't even name her brother. Just because he didn't have a special job didn't mean he had to remain the anonymous one! The news channel didn't help their reputation when their reporters were storming to Mr. Terran's house, uselessly demanding words how the father was feeling about his son's disappearance. Of course, the reporters were all welcomed by silence from him.

The more the time passed, the more Trucy's hopes were weakened. She was still glad Athena had been with her the entire time, but now, even her presence couldn't help her much. It didn't help when pictures of Apollo and even few of Clay's were distributed all around their home. She felt so much pain looking at them she even thought of turning the pictures around so her pain lessened, but she was unable to hide away from the truth.

After all, everyone had taught her the truth must always be known, right?

During the latest days, Trucy had been asked few times by the police to try calling her brother and Clay so they could localized them with the GPS, but she never ever managed to reach them. And once again, she recalled that both Apollo and Clay had decided to not activate their GPS function on their phone because they pretended it ate their batteries too much. They didn't want people to know there they were wandering off either. How unfortunate that sole function might have given them a faster opportunity to be saved.

They had gotten new words from that church in the abandoned town and they were able to confirm, thanks to DNA tests, that the traces of blood found in the church basement indeed belonged to Apollo and Clay. Because of that new evidence, she wasn't even sure if the two guys were still alive, but still no bodies had been found, and as long as there were no bodies, there was hope.

What scared her, however, was the fact that Mr. Terran's car had disappeared from the church area, meaning someone must have had used it. She really hoped it was not to… move bodies around.

Orders were given to the police to find any car matching Mr. Terran's model with the license plate on it, but licenses could be easily changed or taken away. While searching for the car was deemed difficult since it was apparently a very common model, it will allegedly make the search for them easier.

Not that they found the two already.

On the other hand, going back to the simpler subjects, Trucy was lucky enough that her teachers gave her a special permission to allow her to work on her exams on a later date. Her case was quite special, but she won't be able to avoid them forever, not at least until her brother came back.

If he will ever do.

Oh, he will, she told herself. He must, or else… He'll have to be her magic assistant for her shows, forever!

Forever…

Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door, and Athena enthusiastically went to open it. Ever since she stayed in the siblings' home to comfort Trucy, anything standing out from the dull moments living here brought a fair excitement to the lawyer. To her big surprise, the one at the door was that odd former witness from her first case in this country. What was her name again?

"Jinxie!" Trucy called out with a smile at seeing her friend.

Oh, now Athena remembered. Jinxie Tenma, the daughter of the defendant back then.

"Hello Trucy, hello friend of the demon lawyer…" Jinxie replied back, her smile much more discreet than Trucy's but it was better than none at all. "I heard about your demon brother, and I wanted to give you my sincere encouragements."

Athena shuddered at the name given by the odd girl, but at least it didn't have the demon word in it, at least for her.

"Oh, Jinxie!" the magician cried out louder, hugging her friend tighter. "It must have taken you lot of courage just to come here by yourself! Your presence makes me smile!"

"Thanks, Trucy!" her friend gratefully exclaimed. "Your demon brother, his girlfriend and you were all there when I needed someone to help Papa, so I want to be here for you too."

Wait, was Athena now given the nickname of girlfriend? She chuckled at the thought, not that she had any type of romantic feeling for her senior partner, but still…

"By the way," Athena started, directing her focus on the "yokai" girl. "Don't you have school today?"

"Oh no," Jinxie replied. "My latest exam was yesterday, and the next and last one's an easy subject, scheduled for tomorrow. I should be fine."

Fine… They were fine.

And then Trucy remembered her brother's signature words. Though he had many, that one was one of the main reasons that bounded the friendship between him and Clay. Now, she felt it was the best time to use them.

"Athena," Trucy began. "You remember Polly's therapeutic words to boost his confidence?"

"Oh yeah! The 'I'm fine' thing?" Athena grinned at the comment.

"We should totally try this, now! C'mon, girls!" Trucy said, this time a little more resounding.

Jinxie blushed; she knew about her friend's brother's signature yelling, but she wouldn't dare to try it between four walls. "But… Trucy, it'll wake up people in the other apartments…"

"Bah, I don't really care!" Trucy responded with a mocking grin. "Anyway, the walls of this place are soundproof, so either they hear nothing, or they'll just hear tiny windy sounds! And, for the heck of it, I'll let you start, Jinxie!"

The young girl reddened further at the thought of initiating their shouting session, but for the sake of cheering her friend up, she'd do anything. "All right, then…" Jinxie shyly stated, taking a long, heavy breath before letting out her own cry.

"Jinxie Tenma… is… f-fine…!"

Both Athena and Trucy looked at the girl in dismay. "I… didn't hear anything!" Trucy protested, giving a playful smirk.

Athena played along. "Yeah, even I didn't hear a thing, and my ears are awesome!" she revealed while rolling her little pinky into an ear like she was cleaning the thing.

"Gah! L-Let me try again!"

"Jinxie… Tenma… IS FINE! JINXIE TENMA IS FINE!"

This caused the two other girls to gasp in amazement. Who'd thought Jinxie could also have… chords of steel? "Jinxie! That was awesome!" Trucy hollered, nearly jumping of joy before she turned to Athena. "Your turn now!"

The junior lawyer didn't hold herself for this moment.

"ATHENA CYKES IS FINE!"

Everyone laughed together and Trucy never felt so heart warmed by those charming moments since the start of the week. She had so many friends which she could count to.

"I… guess it's my turn!" Trucy murmured, giving the girls a shy smile.

"T-TRUCY ENIGMAR… IS FINE! I'M FINE I'M FINE I'M FINE I'M FINE!"

A bit on the exaggerating side, but it worked.

She felt fine, and hopefully, that feeling will last long.

* * *

Date: ?  
Place: ?

"Y-You… You're … fine…"

"You… Y-You're… f… fine…"

"I… I-I-I'm… fine…"

"I… I…"

Everything that surrounded them, even the air, felt like an additional heavy weight on them. The more they spoke, the more words lost their true significance. It didn't take long when sentences soon became meaningless voices, then empty noises barren of sense. However, whenever they'd stopped speaking, they'd feel their terrifying changes in their very mind going on. With the tiny remaining faith inside them, they kept going and going, because that was what human beings did to keep their confidence, right?

Right, but… they weren't really _human_ anymore…

…

No, they had to keep trying! For their own sake, and for the sake of their loved ones!

"A-pollo…" Clay faintly began, half-smile plastered on his lips. "W-Who are y-you?"

Apollo's lips were trembling, but he made his best attempt. "I… I-I… I'm…"

Then he couldn't anymore.

If that weren't for the chains that restrained him sturdily, he would have fallen straight on the ground without offering any kind of resistance to soften the impact. The last of his energy had left him. He couldn't go on anymore.

Apollo might had lost the fight.

His friend's eyes widened in fear. With one gone, Clay realized he will soon be the next one.

"N-No… please… A-Apollo… Stay with m… me…"

No answer.

"Pl… please… J-Just… a little… more…"

"Yes, sure thing, Clay! I'll stay with you!"

Clay jumped at the voice. The joy was short when he quickly recognized that the one who spoke was not his friend, but the one who… gifted them with the curse. Instinctively, another fuming growl escaped the prisoner's lips. With time, both he and his friend had finally accepted some of their feral sides, and growling became part of their hourly routines or at least whenever their captor appeared.

Eros ignored Clay's snarls and turned to his unconscious son instead. He opened the door, carefully approached him and examined his condition. The young father appeared quite satisfied as he gently put a hand on his son's cheek, stroking him like a sleeping baby. "L-Leave Apollo alone…" Clay agonizingly tried to shout.

"Don't tell me what to do, Clay," Eros bluntly replied, still keeping his eyes on Apollo. "You're not my dad."

Upon hearing the comment, Clay couldn't help but nostalgically bowed his head down. The word "dad" was continuously resonating through his ears, unable to clear his view of his father's very image.

"Dad…" he murmured.

When he heard the word coming from his confined one, Eros turned to him, raising an eyebrow with a bit of shock. "You have a father?" the vampire asked.

Clay refused to reply, but Eros already knew the answer to his own question. "You like your father, don't you, Clay?" Suddenly, the psychopath gave in a long sad sigh. "I wish Apollo likes me as much as you like your father. I guess I can't have everything."

If the young father wasn't that both irrational and maniac, maybe Clay would have pitied his fate. Eros had probably genuinely loved his son and he might have been an awesome father if he had never been… reborn. Nevertheless, what was done in the past was done. Now the boy standing in front of him was nothing more than a disgusting creature of the night, doing things in his own way for his sake alone, for his greed. Thus, he was going as far as using the vilest methods just to have the company of his family.

"Your father, do you… miss him, boy?"

The question prompted the weak astronaut to stupidly answer with a whimpering tone like he was about to sob. "Yes…"

A satisfied smile appeared on the vampire father. "When you'll be completely reborn, you should bring your daddy along with you so you can finally complete your family."

Clay froze on these icy words. Did Eros's sickening ways have no end? He couldn't believe it; no one could be as foolish as him! No way!

Yet…

Suddenly, he felt something odd, something he couldn't put his hands on. Goosebumps appeared all over his body. A smile leisurely made its way on his former distressed expression at the thought of seeing his father back with him. His past, human ideals were clouded in confusion, his lips were moving on their own and his mind was screaming in agreement with what Eros had just suggested him.

"…Yes… dad…"

Wait, no! Was he being controlled too? It couldn't be! Eros was not his father!

Unless…

No, he wasn't being controlled. He did all on his own. He, too, was losing himself to the terrifying, gradual changes, and these thoughts of seeing his father joining him in his fate somehow gave him supreme comfort. His grin went wider and his blissful tears gently streamed across his cheeks. He delicately licked his pointed fangs, eager to return home after his rebirth so he'll be able to bring his father on his side, for eternity.

His remaining humanity was finally fading away from him.

"D-Dad… yes, come… to join me…"

* * *

_**Author's note**__: I admit, I'm kinda scared of the ending of this chapter. :c Also, if you find mistakes, please let me know. I wasn't paying too much attention because I was formatting another computer and configuring it while correcting this chapter at the same time. Thank you!_


	18. Rebirth

_This chapter was one of the reasons I used to hesitate to post this fic. :c_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 17: Rebirth**

Date: ?  
Place: ?

It had been few hours since Eros finally unchained the two boys. Both were acting just like he planned: they weren't moving at all, save for their continuous heavy, painful breathing. From the other side of the bars, a sudden nostalgia hit him when he stared at them, faintly squinting, lost in a little dream.

In reality, Eros felt like a heartless bastard for doing this to such innocent kids. Well, he was really a heartless bastard. And of course, Apollo and Clay weren't children anymore, and they weren't quite innocent either, but they were still his son and his son's best friend. Both were agonizing and were regretfully letting the mind changes taking over their lasting human soul in them. However, he knew the worst parts of the changes were going to end shortly, and soon enough, they'll get to enjoy their new lives with him.

To him, the two weren't giving up the fight; they were embracing their rebirth.

From times to times, he still could see the tension surging from them, even in their deteriorated state. Sometimes, they would feebly call their loved ones in their hopeless attempt to keep their remaining faith. As long as these tries were still present in them, Eros felt like they weren't ready to be released and fed. There was always a small possibility their tiny humanity will cause them to hesitate when the time for their first bite will be offered.

Just a little more and they'll be on his side. When the time will come, maybe, just maybe, Apollo will get to like him as the father he had lost since twenty-three long years.

And to please his son, welcoming another member into his little family might be a neat idea.

Mainly, he'd welcome that little Trucy, the stepdaughter he could only catch a glimpse during the showdown in that old church.

* * *

Even after all these times, when Clay had finally completely given up his humanity, Apollo was still dimly struggling against the changes. He continuously muttered his little sister's name, imagining the girl he had grown up with, seeing her as a baby, then a child, and finally the young woman she had become. In a way, Eros envied his son for having the chance to see a younger loved one growing up into a perfectly well individual, something he didn't have the chance to live with his own baby.

The vampire father made a sudden jump when he heard a short, aching cry from the cell. When he rushed to the place, he saw his son using the last bits of energy covering his eyes to hide himself from the tiny but clear sunlight shyly entering inside the cell. Apollo must have accidentally rolled his eyes directly on the huge, deadly star in the sky that was the sun. This abrupt urge of action from him seemed to have somehow weakened his spare free will.

A moment of pity struck the young father.

Eros couldn't help himself. When his loving paternal instincts won over his twisted soul, he went to reach for his child, gently laying Apollo's nearly unconscious head on his chest, trying to place him comfortably on himself to ease his pain. He quietly proceeded to stroke his soft hair in slow back and forth movements to soothe him like a sick little child.

When the father glanced directly at his son's visage, Apollo, eyes closed, gave away few discreet frowns like he was in an emotional pain. Eros knew exactly what Apollo was thinking about: he was dreaming of his little sister, once again.

"Struggling again, boy?" Eros gently murmured, but it almost sounded like a tease.

Thoughtful, Eros dug into his deepest memories and found what exactly he was looking for: the lullaby his tender and beautiful wife had created solely for their dear baby son. While he couldn't exactly remember the lyrics, he still remembered the whole melody.

He hummed it softly while cradling his son in his arms, leaving him a smile. Upon hearing the song, Apollo smoothly opened his eyelids in a slight shock, but leisurely, he closed them again. The weak young man was not even bothering to fight the slumber taking over him when he knew it was his mother's forgotten song, the one he used to listen a lot when he was still a toddler.

Apollo's last thought as he drifted away in the dream world was an image of a smaller and younger Trucy, with himself singing the lullaby to her.

To appease his sleeping son, Eros quietly called him again.

"Good night, Apollo."

* * *

Date: December 21th 2027, 11:31 AM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Kitchen

It had been more than a week, and Athena was now out of ideas.

The more days went on, the more inconsolable the magician became to the point Athena's talent with psychology didn't have a single effect on her friend. Even with what seemed like the entire world was searching for her brother and his friend, still no hint had ever been given about where the two could have disappeared. When Mr. Terran's car had finally been found, around seventy miles away from the city, there was still no trace of them anywhere except for their traces of blood found inside the car. Oddly enough, neither of their bloodied stains were found on the driver's seat…

Policemen and detectives had done everything to follow their scents using the best sniffing dogs, but all of their trails were lost when it reached a dead end in a river. Even by going to the other side of the river, the dogs were unable to find the scents again.

In other words, whenever new information reached Trucy, it always meant bad news.

Trucy confined herself into her bedroom and went as far as locking the door, not even wanting to see anyone, including Athena herself. The junior attorney decided to turn to the kitchen and cook her own cooking specialty to please her friend: chicken sautéed with broccolis. Hopefully, her cooking talent will bring, at least, a smile on the magician girl. She deserved a little joy, the poor thing.

Unfortunately for her, even the succulent aroma of the dinner couldn't bring happiness in the place. Athena gave away a sigh of exasperation and she secretly wished the police and the hunters quickly finished their job so she could go back to her small cozy apartment. Life in the siblings' home had been so monotone she thought she'll eventually be the one who'll go insane instead of her friend.

Athena almost cried of bliss when the home phone ringed since it was like pleasant music to her sensitive ears, especially from hearing anything else than Trucy's whines and sobs. From the caller ID, the call came from none other than Detective Skye herself. With all those latest events in their life, she had nearly forgotten about her own mother's researches the scientist wannabe had accepted to continue and she really hoped this will be the main subject of the upcoming call!

"Hello, this is Cykes, Athena Cykes."

"_Huh? Who are you and why are you being so formal?_" the one on the other side responded, confused.

"Ema? This is me, Athena!"

"_Oh, Athena, Mr. Wright's protégée? What are you doing in Apollo's home?_"

Wait, so Ema didn't know about Apollo's whereabouts? Athena decided to keep the information for herself. "Well, let's just say… huh I'm here to visit them!" Athena replied with a quick, silly answer.

"_I see_," the detective bluntly responded back with few snackoos in her mouth. "_By the way, about your mother's researches..._"

Athena went silent with these words. Her hopes were right! Her heartbeat suddenly pulsed faster, fervently waiting for the result the detective will announce. Ema continued. "_We've managed to create few meds, but now, we need… well… subjects to test these on_."

Upon learning the news, Athena nearly fainted. If this wasn't for the recent disappearing event, she would have cried of joy and she'd go straight to Ema and hug her, even if she wasn't physically in front of her. "That's awesome!" Athena happily hollered. Her sudden burst drew a certain girl's attention when she slowly made her way outside her now unlocked bedroom. Athena couldn't help but look at Trucy with sad eyes. She kept her happy tone over the phone, however. "Have you told the boss?"

"_No, I tried calling him, but he's unreachable. Mr. Wright has the bad habit of forgetting to charge his phone_."

For an instant, Athena really hoped her boss wasn't missing as well.

"_So, Athena, whenever you see Mr. Wright, just give me the call! Also, tell him we'll need his hunting skills to capture few vampires alive for testing! Don't forget to tell Apollo too! We'll be glad to accept any kind of subjects! We even have few sturdy cages ready in the lab to contain them!_"

"Thank you so much Ema for your good work!"

"_No problem! Pharmacology's like science, and when there's science, there's fun, especially when you've got to try them on something, or someone! See you later!_"

As Ema hung the phone, Athena shuddered at the thought of the detective being the mad, laughing scientist in a bloody lab coat. Since when people had fun testing scientific formulas on people out of everything?!

"Athena? What was that about?" Trucy murmured, still half-hidden behind her door. The dark bags under her eyes were visibly reddened by dried tears.

"Oh Trucy…" Athena answered back, not sure what to tell the girl. She appeared to have this ray of hope in her eyes that maybe the call was some good news about her brother for once. "I'm sorry, it was Ema telling me about my mother's researches."

Normally, Trucy would feel cheerful over the news, but she was unable to utter her delight. It was still a good thing, but… "O-Okay, that's good…" the gloomy magician left out before returning in her room, locking the door again.

Poor Trucy. She really needed something to cheer herself.

* * *

Date: ?  
Place: ?

A scent woke them up.

A new delicious fragrance reached their nostrils, all at the same time.

When Eros, still holding his son in his arms, observed the sky from the tiny window, it was nighttime, _their_ times. When he looked up to the two dying young men in their cell, their clear eyes slowly exposed themselves, their mouth dimly opened and their tongue hanged outside with their lips dripping on the sides. Both were letting out some heavy panting like they were impatiently demanding delightful, fresh blood. They just wanted their hunger satisfied at once like two sickly cubs, waiting for their fearsome, predatory parent to bring them their appetizing kills.

At last, they were ready for their first meal.

All the coincidences kicked in altogether: it was nighttime, the two boys were ready and there were fresh, young humans wandering around the place. The timing couldn't have been more perfect than it already was.

However, Eros was aware that this abandoned town devoid of life was an area where human's presence was uncommon. Since Apollo and Clay went missing for a while, the humans around might be some dangerous ones, maybe armed hunters or members of the police searching for them. He'd have to be more than careful if he wanted to capture one of them to feed the two.

"Stay here, kids. I won't be long, I promise," Eros told the two unmoving men when he carefully exited the cell, not even bothering to lock the door behind, knowing they couldn't move either way. At least, not until the close smell of their prey will provide them enough boost of energy to let them move again.

He remembered where he put all the former hunters' equipment in a nearby cell in case he'd need them. Hunting for human blood was a mere easy game to him, but preying on armed humans sounded more like a harder mode of a challenge. He carefully examined each piece of equipment and decided he'll need four things: a pistol, a net gun, a pair of handcuffs and Clay's cellphone.

He was ready to hunt like a real hunter, just like in his old human days; except this time, he was hunting for human beings.

* * *

Date: December 21th 2027, 10:17 PM  
Place: Fisherville, Abandoned Prison area

It was always an unfortunate fact when you learned about some towns histories when they reached the new millennium. Fisherville used to be a small prosperous mining town, but ever since an accident took away the lives of hundreds of men in the mines around twenty years ago, the economy of the town crumbled along the mines. Now it was a desolate area, and this was probably one of the best places to start searching for two missing boys.

"Man, Klav, you're good with choosing places to search! This place's creepy as hell!"

"C'mon, Daryan, I know you like these creepy places. It's the best place if you want to kill some preys."

Klavier looked around the place with his thermal lenses, but aside from his partner Daryan, few rats and birds around, nothing seemed out of the place. No vampires, no missing boys. The black haired young man was now fed up with the whole situation.

"Damnit!" Daryan cursed, nearly throwing his lenses away on the old concrete, his hands changing into closed fists, shaking with annoyance. "I'm tired of this! It's been more than a week and we still haven't found anything, not even a stupid hint to find your two boys!"

Daryan had decided to come along his partner in this search solely because Klavier had cancelled their tour for this and he had nothing else to do. However, all the man wanted now was to return home and play his guitar, practicing once more with his other pals, going to poke some fun at few clubs and drinking with friends. But for the entire week, all they did together were searching, searching and searching, aside for few hours of sleeping and eating. That was all they did, just like an old couple having nothing else to do to with their lives.

"The fans are waiting!" Daryan yelled with infuriation. "They demand the Gavinners to come back! Haven't you read the news recently? Have you checked our social media page on the Internet? Girls are crying for your voice, and guys are waiting for my guitar!"

Dropping his head in a slight shame, Klavier wasn't going to lose himself in these incessant arguments against his friend.

"This… is a personal case, Daryan, and you know it," the blond young man expressed, albeit a little sadly. "Herr Justice and Herr Terran are personal acquaintances, and they worked under my… brüder."

"Heh, I felt for ya, partner," Daryan revealed, still irritated somehow. "But mind that many of us hunters have personal reasons for becoming hunters too, so don't think you're alone in this! Being a hunter is already risky as it is, and it's not uncommon to see few of us disappear like that! Even rarely but the worst, the hunter becomes the hunted!"

A dry chuckle escaped the blond man's mouth. "Let's hope it's not the latter. I already had a hard time with my own brother."

When Klavier laid his eyes on the top of the building, he saw a fast moving silhouette with a gun pointed at them.

Klavier and Daryan didn't even have the time to jolt that the gun shot in a loud bang.

Suddenly, a huge net surrounded both of them as they tried to escape. The relief hit the two young men when they realized it was a net used by most of hunters to capture vampires in case the captured ones were humans or not. So it must be another hunter around searching for vampires too, to their luck. "Damnit!" Daryan cursed. "That hunter should have been more careful when he shot!"

However, the terror struck them as soon as the one on the top jumped from the building and gracefully landed close to them. Wait a minute; no human could jump like that!

Unfortunately, such a small distraction gave enough time for the creature to shoot them both, with Daryan crying in pain with a bullet in the stomach and Klavier shouting with a bullet in his shoulder, rendering his firing arm useless. As they both moaned in agony, the shooter was finally close enough to reveal his face under the bright moon. In spite of the bleeding bullet wound in his shoulder, Klavier managed a confused gasp upon glaring at their mysterious shooter.

"Herr F-Forehead?!" Klavier called in shock when he realized the one who shot him was his young friend.

Still having his pistol pointed at them, the vampire perplexedly looked at them. "Herr… Forehead?" the being murmured.

"Herr Justice!" Klavier continued with a louder voice. "W-Why did you shoot us?! What has gotten into you? Where's your friend Herr Terran?"

Surprisingly, it clicked. The young blond man had already given him an odd nickname with the _Justice_ name in it and then mentioned a certain Herr _Terran_.

Then he knew: they were both searching for Apollo and Clay, and with the unusual names the blond man gave them, there was a chance he personally knew the two.

"You two look delicious," the young vampire teased them, even licking his own lips with some kind of delirious satisfaction, watching as the two were still groaning in pain with terrified glares. "But I think the blond one shall do."

"W-What?" Daryan protested but he didn't even have the time to mutter another word when the vampire pointed the weapon straight on his forehead and fired. A warm disgusting blood splatter hit Klavier's face from the gunshot. He went completely mute from the deadly shooting.

His old friend fell like a lump of rock, dead.

"D-Daryan…!" Klavier muffled before turning his eyes on the killer. It was when he finally realized it was not his friend standing there, but another nameless vampire. "W-What did you do…"

"Oh, nothing important," the young vampire exclaimed, raising his shoulder, keeping his gun pointed on Klavier's head. "I'll keep your friend for another meal. You look more delicious, after all."

The vampire revealed out his handcuffs and used them around Klavier's wrists, making sure he was being attached with his arms behind his back. He carefully took off the net and brusquely pulled in the wounded blond man toward the prison while the young prosecutor started yelling in discomfort and despair.

"D-Damnit, spawn of hell, w-what are you going to do to me?"

The vampire suddenly slapped him hard on the face from the nickname he had just been given. "I have a name, you know?!" the young vampire barked at him with fury. "My name's Eros!"

"Answer me!"

Eros did not give a direct answer and he simply gave a sarcastic smirk at him. "Human, you don't need to know, I assure you."

Klavier panicked. For anyone who'd seen movies or read stories and witnessed as characters get that type of answers, they'd immediately have a guess for some horrible fate coming. Unexpectedly, it could totally be the complete opposite, which he really doubted upon seeing what happened to Daryan and how he was being treated by that Eros boy. What kind of name was that anyway? The place was pitching black, and the smell was atrocious. Was he simply going to rot in a place like this, so far from his home, his friends, everything?

Soon, the vampire threw him inside a cell like a filthy ragdoll. Klavier screamed as he hit the ground, the bullet inside him intensifying his unbearable pain. Eros quickly locked the cell door and grinned at him. The cell was dark and Klavier couldn't see much except for the barred window. The humid air of the place felt so filthy and the stench was so terrible he threw up a little. Everything went so fast. The gunshots, Daryan's sudden killing, and now being thrown in this prison cell. He wished he had better days.

The room was too dark for him to see anything. He'd need a light to see what was exactly happening, and, like magic, a light blinded him. In some kind of silly way, Eros was holding a cellphone, using the camera flash to lighten the room to show the blond human the extraordinaire spectacle that was coming.

Klavier saw them: Apollo and Clay, laying flat on the floor, both facing the ground, heavily panting.

He couldn't resist the sudden urge to call them loudly, a tiny bit happy to see them alive, though they did not appear quite so well. "Herr Forehead! Herr Terran! You're both alive!" Klavier called, trying to get on his two feet, which he managed to do even with his shoulder injury and cuffed hands behind his back. He turned to the vampire boy, enraged by the whole thing happening to him and his friends. "You won't get away with this!"

Eros was unable to contain his little laugh. "I think I can get away with this, human," he calmly expressed with a sneer, showing his fangs at him in a mocking manner. "You know why? Because it doesn't really matter, don't you think?"

To not get madder against the situation, Klavier decided to ignore the boy and instead he returned to one of his dying friends, approaching the brunette. "Herr Forehead! Answer me!"

Fortunately, Apollo appeared to be well enough to turn his head around, raising his half-closed sight toward his lawyer friend.

What welcomed him froze his veins, however.

Apollo's frozen eyes were completely empty of emotion and his mouth was letting out a feeble, primal growl.

And suddenly, a bestial roar escaped the young brunette when he managed to make a wild bounce on Klavier, even in his weak condition. Thankfully, Klavier's fast reflexes powerfully kicked his friend out of the way, but his move caused him to fall on the floor in a loud thud. His wounded shoulder brutally hit the ground first. Wincing from the great strain that intensified further more with the throbbing fall, he was unable to get up with his hands stuck behind his back. Aching tears were flying around his head when he let out a stinging yelp.

With a shivering body, Klavier was able to direct his focus on the vampire outside the cell. The dark spawn was still grinning with his cellphone and his flashlight at hands. "W-What did y-you do? Y-You… turned my friends…" Klavier sorely blurted out, his expression filled with utter fright.

"Why not?" Eros calmly answered, seemingly determined of his reply. "I've not seen him since twenty-three long years, and I have all the rights to see my dear son after all these years!" Almost melancholically, he drew his concern on the raven-haired young man. "And I couldn't leave his dear friend behind either, the poor kid. Pollo would have been so saddened to lose his best buddy."

Klavier was perplexed by the answer. What was the vampire talking about? "… Your son?" were the only words he could mutter.

"Yes, my little Pollo, oh, how I've missed him!"

Another evil smile ran across the vampire's lips when he glanced at his two protégés; both were ready at any time to bounce on the poor sole human. "I guess you have all the rights to know this, because your time's up anyway," Eros laughed.

The silence took over the prosecutor once again when he managed to turn over, watching his two friends leaving out awful growls from their chords. Their mouth were dripping of their saliva and their tongue were scrumptiously licking their new fangs. They couldn't recognize their friend at the time because all that was evading their current state of mind was how delighted they'll be as soon as they'll bring the delicious taste of this human's blood over their lips.

It was not Klavier at their feet. It was a plain human, a mere meal generously given by their protector.

Like two wild predators, Apollo and Clay ferociously feasted on their old human friend as Klavier let out a plea for help, a desperate cry that would last for long minutes. His screams went completely deaf to the newly reborn creatures of the night as their teeth sank into the deep flesh of their prey, taking an absolute delectation feeling the warm liquid reaching their new sensitive taste buds.

As the existence faded away from the dying human, disappearing into the two mindless beasts, his soul was continuously swallowed until he was nothing more than an empty piece of flesh giving up its life.

With their lovely banquet, their reminiscences threw their old lives away like simple, unwanted trashes. All the people the lawyer had saved, all the ones he had worked with; they were gone from his memories. The astronaut's dreams, his launch; they were mere things of the past that didn't need to be remembered. The only signifying need in their now simpler minds was the ecstasy of devouring others' lives like a sheer dinner.

Their rebirth was now completed.

From the other side of the cell, Eros closed the light and let the nature did her thing. Now, a serene smile took place over his expression. He was right after all; he won't be alone anymore. His two protégés were now fully part of his wild family. "I'm proud of you, boys," the vampire father peacefully exclaimed. "Welcome to your new life!"

* * *

_**Author's note**__: I'm ABSOLUTELY sorry to kill off a nice canon character that everyone loves and that is almost always paired with a certain defense attorney (or a scientist wanna be or even his older brother, oddly). But it was necessary to bring the drama… :c_


	19. A Tiny Ray of Hope

_If you make it to this chapter even with the previous chapter, I congratulate you!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 18: A Tiny Ray of Hope**

Date: December 22th 2027, 9:49 AM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

After a long, tiring argument against the usually cheerful girl in the siblings' house, Athena had finally convinced Trucy to make their way to the agency for a change. Maybe this will do well on the magician's state. In a way, it worked, to Athena's relief. Trucy smiled when she felt the bright sun rays warming her cheeks, the soft wind gently flowing through her hair, the birds' chirpings and even the cars sounds around the streets. All noises were like a melody to her ears, no matter how cheesy it felt. For once, she didn't mind much letting go the thoughts of her big brother to get herself free from the stress she had to endure in the latest days.

The change of mood did even better when she met more acquaintances in the Wright Anything Agency. In reality, she had missed them all and she gave them a joyful grin: Mr. Wright, Simon, and even Detective Ema Skye were all present, though the presence of the latter surprised her.

As usual, the grumpy detective was munching on her snackoos with more ferocity than ever. She glared at the two newest ones in the place, though her icy glare was particularly focusing on the junior attorney. "Hey there Athena," Ema mumbled. "Why didn't you tell me about Apollo and his friend's whereabouts on the phone last time?"

Mortified, Athena scratched her cheek. "I actually thought you knew, since you're with the police and all…" she replied, her eyes shamefully on the side.

"Well, guess people in the force are dumb enough to not let me know," Ema complained. "I heard even the glimmering fop is searching for them. What's his problem? Not even telling his favorite detective partner all of this?!"

In a funny way, Athena could detect a small discord in Ema's words, like a childish jealousy. Ema finally turned to Trucy who did everything to keep that beam of light in her little smile, greeting the detective with a small "Hi Ema!"

As soon as Ema's gaze crossed Trucy's, the empathy could be noticed a little more for obvious reasons. "Hello, Trucy!" the young woman greeted. "I'm having big hope for your brother. I'm pretty sure all defense attorneys are made of steel, just like Mr. Wright."

Suddenly, Trucy giggled at the joke. Everyone was quite pleased to see the uplifting mood on the little girl who had not laughed for many days and who seemed to have gotten thinner than she already was.

Returning her attention to the two other men in the room, Athena began her everyday speech with them. "So, Simon, boss, any news about the two?"

"Unfortunately, still nothing," Mr. Wright answered. "No trace of them anywhere, but the police still thinks the two might be far from here."

"Man!" Athena shouted out, a little on the frustrating side. "Why is this taking so long? Don't they know we're sick worried?"

At Athena's outburst, a short loop of a Gavinners' song suddenly played on Ema's being. When all eyes were drawn on her, the detective madly blushed. "Please!" Ema begged with a forced smile on her lips, visibly not happy to let others know that she had a song of her prosecutor partner as her phone ringtone. "Don't tell anyone I listen to their songs, and especially not to the fop!"

Trucy looked at her, confused. Why would the detective hide her passion for the band by using one of their songs as a ringtone? It didn't make any sense to her, but at least the whole moment gave her even more laugher.

"This is Detective Skye," Ema replied to the call. But soon, few seconds after the start of the call, she abruptly froze with a frown.

Everyone was curious for the reason of her sudden reaction, and from what they could make out, this didn't appear to be good news. The conversation continued. "What? No way! This can't be!" the woman ranted on, more excitedly irritated. "Are you sure about this?"

After two long minutes of discussion, Ema finally let her vent go, slowly. "I… understand, I think," she sighed. "Thank you for letting me know."

When Ema hung her phone, Trucy was the one to shove herself onto her, waiting for some good news to come. "Have they found them?" the small girl exclaimed, smiling innocently.

Bewildered, Ema wasn't sure how to reply. Trucy looked so happy and yet, Ema couldn't bear to see her in a sadder state than she already was, but she must keep her professionalism at hand. She was still a detective after all, and she needed to put her emotions on the side when duty came. "Well, they found new evidences," Ema revealed, and Trucy cried of joy, grabbing Athena's wrists and pulling her out of place, practically dancing around. She did not even let Ema finish what was to come next.

"However, I can't say this is good news… I'm sorry Trucy."

In reality, Trucy was expecting some bad news, but like a child, she sulked and crossed her arms in frustration, not even saying anything.

"I have the regret to announce that… Prosecutor Klavier Gavin and his band partner, Detective Daryan Crescend, have been found dead earlier this morning, around eighty miles from here, in the Fisherville town."

* * *

How could this happen? Why did everyone around her disappear in gruesome and tragic ways? First, it was her parents along with her uncle, then Mr. Gavin's with his execution, and now, it was Klavier's turn with his partner.

This wasn't the entire story behind the murder event when Ema announced the news. Both bodies were found with bullets inside them. According to the ballistic markings, the pistol that was used to shoot actually belonged to both Apollo and Clay as a part of their hunting equipment. The only fingerprints found on the weapon were Apollo's and an unknown person's since Clay had the habit of using gloves all the time, so none of his prints were found on it.

Daryan's body was found just outside the abandoned prison. His death had been confirmed to be a bullet in his forehead, though he had another bullet in the stomach and there was one bite mark on his neck, probably devoured when already dead. Klavier's body was left inert in another cell of the prison. He also had a bullet wound in a shoulder, but it was obviously something else that caused his frightening death. He was probably being devoured by two vampires while being wounded and conscious. Most of the other equipment from Apollo and Clay were found in a nearby cell, but their bodies were nowhere.

In addition, Apollo and Clay's phones were found among the equipment, both with their batteries depleted. It was thanks to Klavier's phone that the police managed to find them since the rock star had his GPS function activated.

Because of the clues with the bullets and pistol and because the bodies of the two others were not found anywhere, both her brother and his friend were the prime suspects for the double murder. The very first thing Trucy did when she heard from the detective that her brother was a possible murderer was screaming after Ema, almost punching her in despair, her now returning tears blinding her clear view around. The little sister went after the office couch, drowning her emotions into one of the pillows, not wanting to hear anything from anyone.

Everyone looked at each other, raising their shoulders in discomfort, and once again, Athena felt like the one who'll have to sit close by her friend, trying to calm down the girl in her own way. "Trucy," Athena gently started. "I know this is bad news, but… I'm gonna use the boss's way of seeing things. There's still no concrete proof that your big brother or Clay shot them…"

Slowly, Trucy turned her head toward her friend. Suddenly, Athena became even more perplexed when the magician's heartbeat shifted from being utterly sad to unspeakably terrified. She couldn't put her hands on why exactly. To everyone's surprise, Trucy spoke, though her tone was unsteady like she had just seen a ghost.

"A-Athena…" Trucy started, trying to cover herself with her arms, her whole body quivering. "I once… made a nightmare when I was young… only Polly knew about it…"

Her voice was now louder with shivers. "And n-now, the nightmare is real!"

Athena went to pat the girl on her back, still clueless of the situation. "What nightmare?"

"When I was small, I once dreamed… that Polly and Clay were vampires… and they wanted me to join them…"

An uncomfortable silence reigned in the room. "What?" Athena gasped in astonishment. She didn't expect this. "But neither of the two are vampires, so your nightmare is just, well, not true!"

"But, Athena!" Trucy suddenly complained, the fearful emotions worsening her mood. "Ema said so herself! Polly and Clay's stuff were found around the area; Klavier was found dead because he was apparently being eaten by two vampires! That means… someone changed them!"

"There's no proof!" the junior lawyer desperately objected.

"Their bodies were not found, there was no blood of them in the place, and they are gone!" Trucy objected back, sobbing at the same time. "I'm sure it's that EJ guy who did that!"

In spite of her sorrow that was gradually changing into a slight insanity, Trucy managed a weak smile. She was hit with a sudden nostalgia when she reminded of an old, nearly forgotten memory. "But… Polly, he promised me… I now remember everything he told me, that day."

_Clay won't be a vampire, Mr. Gavin won't be a vampire, and I won't be a vampire! And I can assure you, and I promise, that I'll never let you become a vampire._

_You… promise?_

_I promise._

* * *

At the end, to contain Trucy's outbursts, Athena stayed with her inside her boss bedroom, still trying to soothe her. Mr. Wright, Simon and Ema were discussing in the living room. Ema came to the agency for a particular reason. "I know you guys are busy searching for the two kids, but I have a request for you."

"Sure, shoot away," Mr. Wright began. A sudden discomfort hit the detective when the attorney used the somewhat special expression by using the word "shoot". Mr. Wright felt a little uneasy until he realized why he was given a silent treatment from her. Ema's prosecutor partner had just been shot and murdered, and while he was aware of her resent against the rock star, he knew she didn't completely dislike him. After all, Klavier was not a bad guy.

Losing a close or far acquaintance wasn't really a good thing to live. He knew the concerned feeling himself when that weird, detestable doctor was murdered nearly in front of him during an old case in Kurain village, with his former assistant being accused for the deed (but proven innocent later, of course). While the victim was a rotten human being, he still had felt discomfort over seeing his dead body when he had discussed with him mere minutes earlier.

"Anyway," Ema bitterly started. "You know about Dr. Metis Cykes's researches and all of that, right? Well, we're in dire need of… test subjects to try these medications on, to see if they really work. Obviously, we can't really test them on human beings, they'd give no effect. Our team needs you to capture few vampires around, alive of course. We have few meds depending on the level of aggressiveness of these bad guys, so the more you capture the better to test their effects."

When Ema finished, Simon smiled. He knew exactly where to find one subject, now. "Skye-dono," the prosecutor called with an odd satisfying expression. "My sister from the Space Center might be a good 'subject' for your experience."

The detective's expression changed to blankness then grasp. She had actually forgotten Athena's comment about that other vampire working in the Space Center, and she was even more surprised that the girl was actually Simon's sister! "My sister… doesn't know that few other people among the center actually know of her condition, and that includes her own brother. But thanks to my mentor's researches, these people decided to ignore her condition so that my sister keeps her sanity. Aside, her condition doesn't bother any, so all's good to them."

The excitement had taken over the detective, knowing she was about to test their experimental product on someone, even if it had to be someone else's sister. "That'd be wonderful if she accepts to be part of the experiment!" she exclaimed, grinning like a satisfied kid.

"All right, then," Simon continued with a gentle smile. "I'll give her a call."

* * *

Date: December 22th 2027, 10:32 AM  
Place: Cosmos Space Center, Robotic Laboratory

Normally, at this time of the day, Aura should be sleeping peacefully in her room. However, since she had learned of her brother's innocent verdict and the princess's as well, she had been unable to lay down calmly on her bed. Because of the accusation she personally had on Metis's daughter for all these long seven years, her bitterness couldn't immediately go away. She was still glad and happy for Simon's final verdict, and, to her relief, Metis will finally be able to rest in peace.

Her brother had called her few times ever since that retrial, but she refused to answer him. Instead, she'd simply listen to the voicemail messages left by him.

Still, even all of the good news will not bring her to the old good time and her friend back to the living world. She had nearly gotten used to her lonely life in the robotic lab and her personal lounge to the point nothing mattered much in the Space Center anymore. Even the two proud creations she had conceived with Metis were simple objects of the surrounding to throw around when she felt the need to shove her anger on something. This helped to ease her mind, in an odd way.

Drat, her phone was getting another call now. She hoped it was not from anyone in the center or anything that had to do about that disappearing pilot of the cancelled launch. As if his whereabouts had a real significance to her. Why did she keep charging her phone when she barely even looked into it?

As usual, the call was led to her voicemail. Minding her own business, she would have ignored the message if her ears weren't so enhanced by her cursed status. Sometimes, she wondered if that was the hearing the princess, or rather little Athena, had to endure all the time.

"_Good day Aura, this is Simon_."

So that was another call from her brother. How usual.

"_I know you are listening to this message, so hear me out. I've got good news for you_."

Good news? Now this slightly picked her interest.

"_I'm pretty sure you remember my mentor's researches and how you were the one to try her medications_."

She made a sudden bounce on that part. Wait a minute; Simon knew about her… change? How was that possible? Only Metis and her daughter knew about it! Unless one of them told him…

"_If you're surprised I'm aware about it, actually, I'm sorry to say that few more people know about your condition in the space center. However, they all trusted you and they know that, as Metis's closest friend, you knew how to keep your humanity despite your condition. How they all found out is still a mystery to me, but I heard the rumors and with all the hints surrounding you, I was able to confirm they were right. Don't worry, Metis and Athena never told anyone and I never resented you for this. No one ever asks for this condition; it's not your fault_."

When carefully listening to her brother, she almost went into a blank state. She immediately burst into tears. Her brother loved her to the very end, and she should have trusted Metis's daughter since the beginning.

A few seconds pause was being shared over the phone, but Aura could hear the long breath her brother took for the next part of the call.

"_Aura, we found that Metis's researches about the psychology and the medications for vampires still live on, thanks to a secret backup file Athena and her friends discovered in the Widget collar. They only found about it recently, and a small group of scientists are creating new medications according to Metis's scans._"

Aura gasped. Metis's researches… were still alive?

"_I'm asking you if you wish to be the first to try them. They are eager to see the results, and I'm sure you miss these old medications_."

She was unable to think rationally when the joy was overtaking her entire soul. In some way, Metis was still alive in all of this, watching over everything, and Aura looked to the sky with a smile on her.

"_Call me back if you want to be their… test subject_."

She didn't even wait for the message to end that she grabbed her phone, restlessly calling her brother in a very enthusiastic way. It had been seven years ever since she was last overwhelmed by a positive feeling. "Simon! I'm here!" Aura yelled.

From the other side of the phone, Simon smiled back. "_Welcome back, Aura,"_ the little brother intimately expressed.

* * *

Date: December 22th 2027, 10:51 AM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

"Aura's accepting," Simon declared with his curled up lips as he hung off his phone. "Of course, I can't get her to come now for obvious reasons. The sun's gonna hurt her, but mind if I take one of your medications so I can give some to her when I'll reach her?"

Ema's grin went wider. She was just as excited to see the results of these researches. "Sure, I've got plenty on me," Ema revealed while throwing her keys and a bottle of medications to Simon who caught the things. "Make sure to bring her back when the medications will take effects! I'll even lend you my car."

Simon gave her a gratified expression to thank her. "I still don't have my driver's license back, but whatever, thank you, Skye-dono."

As soon as the prosecutor rushed his way to the detective's car, leaving the agency, a midi song of the Steel Samurai's theme song kicked around the surrounding. Ema snorted at the ringtone, giving an astonished glare at the only defense attorney present in the room. "You still have that ringtone after all these years?" she exclaimed, nearly mortified.

Seeing the call came from Mr. Terran, Mr. Wright awkwardly ignored Ema's comment and answered the call. "Hi, this is Phoenix Wright."

"_Phoenix_," the man on the other side of the phone line sadly called. "_You… heard about my son's news with his friend? The one about… them being possible murderers… The police informed me earlier._"

Mr. Wright didn't know how to comment about this.

"… I heard about it, yes…"

He could hear the sobs from the father. "_C-Clay and Apollo are no murderers… They'd n-never hurt their own friends!_" Mr. Terran protested with denial. "_That's why… please, Phoenix, if you find them, please… you must defend them, I implore you! They are… alive and innocent, I'm sure of this!_"

The defense attorney gave away a short, soft sigh, but he smiled at the man. "You know me well, Mr. Terran. I assure you I'll do my best to defend them when the time will come."

He could hear more tears from the older man with the hope coming back to him, and Mr. Wright felt like he was fainting from the psychological pressure. "_T-Thank you, Phoenix Wright, really, thank you_," Mr. Terran sincerely expressed his gratitude toward the lawyer. "_Clay… is my only family left… I don't know what I'll do without seeing him live his dreams… Thanks…_"

When the line was cut, drained of his will, Mr. Wright fell down on the couch with a loud sigh, gripping the sides of his head in exhaustion, not even sure what to do anymore. While there was now a bigger chance to see the two young men alive, he was sort of afraid to see what exactly had become of them, the truth behind all of this.

What if… Trucy was right?

That was still a possibility among all other possibilities. Yet, like he kept trying to tell himself, just like he told Trucy, as long as there was no proof of what they did or what they became, the outcome could always be a positive one.

But the wise saying was starting to get repetitive on all of them.

* * *

Date: December 23th 2027, 7:17 PM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

Tonight was the night she'll take over the world, she thought. She'll go against the nature of things and deal with it like nothing could affect her physic and mind. The way she told herself these odd thoughts really, really sounded cheesy to her. Yet, this won't stop her from grinning like a pleased kid getting a brand new video game console from their parents when they expected it the less. It was more than a simple birthday gift: it was for science!

It had been more than twenty-four hours since Aura had started taking the newest medications from Ema's team. She recently took another of her daily dose and to her definitive delight, the hunger was no more. She didn't feel like going to hunt and nothing looked appetizing anymore; her stomach felt full.

Metis's legacy was alive once again and Aura's revival came along it.

When Ema and Simon approached to take a good examination on her while she was resting in Mr. Wright's room, the vampire gal completely looked like a new person; a radiant young woman full of hopes. She was reborn into a much better individual. She had passion in the eyes, a real smile and an optimistic expression on her.

"I feel… nice…" Aura said, peacefully glancing at her little brother and the detective.

A gratified grin appeared on Ema at the thought of her scientist friends' fruitful efforts. "So, hum, you don't feel… hungry when you see us?" Ema expressed with supreme joy.

"Not at all," Aura teasingly replied, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, questioning the young detective sanity. She was looking so eager to test her scientific things on more live subjects.

"Awesome! This is scientifically awesome!" Ema exclaimed, her fists clenching high toward the ceiling with happiness. "Thank you for accepting being our test subject, Aura!"

To her surprise, this prompted Aura to approach the detective and give her a long hug. "No, thank you Ema, for continuing my lov… friend's researches," Aura blessed her.

Well, at least one unhappy person in the group was now a happy person. That was one problem solved. Now only two problems remained: Trucy and Mr. Terran.

Athena managed to tuck Trucy in like a little child in another spare room of the agency which Mr. Wright used as a storage room. The poor magician deserved her little sleep when she hardly had any since that fateful day. Mr. Wright, unable to slumber anyway, had taken the decision to give Mr. Terran a little visit to his residence directly so they could speak about the situation together.

Since Simon was going to bring Aura's back to the Space Center with a pack of medications for her, he offered Mr. Wright a lift there. "Nan, I'll just take a walk," the mentor told the prosecutor. "It does me good and maybe I'll find few bounties on my way."

Upon hearing this, Ema's eyes shined again. "Wait, Mr. Wright!" she called. "Before you go, you should bring this with you!"

Ema took out a small gun from her lab coat pocket and placed it in the hands of a curious Mr. Wright, glaring at the little weapon. "It's a special gun that shots sedative from afar! There's only one shot in it for now, and it works on vampires! So if you find one, use it to bring another subject to us! You know where our lab is, right?"

"Of course! Thanks, Ema," Mr. Wright expressed, putting the gun in his pocket. "Does it really work?"

"Well, I'm not sure…" the detective awkwardly answered. "But it should! My friends scientifically proved all normal sedatives work on vampires too, but you need other things in it to make it more effective! This one should take effect practically instantaneously after the shot!"

* * *

At nighttime, when everyone was gone, Ema had decided to stay in the agency for another night. She was terrified of being outside at night all alone for obvious reasons. Aside, Simon still had her car and the man was on his way to the Space Center with his sister Aura.

Since Trucy was fast asleep in Wright's room (Athena had moved her back on a more comfortable bed), Ema and Athena were sitting together on the sofa. There was a tiny cold between them since they actually didn't know much each other. Fortunately, Athena was good at initiating new discussions with strangers.

"So, how did you get to know the little group?" Athena asked, excited of learning the backstory of everyone around her.

"Well, it's kinda a long story," Ema began, crunching into one of her snackoos at the same time. "About ten years ago, I was searching for a specific attorney for my older sister when she was accused of murder. I thought I'd reach the attorney, but instead, I found Mr. Phoenix Wright in this agency. The attorney I wanted was his mentor, the former owner of this agency. A genius woman, that one, but… I guess fate had not been so kind with her. So Mr. Wright saved my sister who was my only family and he saved me in the process too! You can say the great Phoenix Wright's a genius attorney!"

"Whoa, the boss's really a genius!" Athena exhaled. "So you know him since forever? He must've been an awesome man back then!"

"He still is!" Ema retorted with a smile. "His seven years disbarment changed him a little, but I'd say he matured instead, though I always feel a little bad how he treats the little kiddo… I mean Apollo."

Hearing the name brought a little sadness in the conversation.

"And how did you meet Apollo and Trucy?" Athena questioned.

"It was totally by chance, during a case a year and half ago. I was surprised to see them working under Mr. Wright when he wasn't even a lawyer anymore at the time. Guess you didn't get to know these old times."

"Well, I did meet the boss when he was not an attorney anymore," Athena revealed. "However, when he told me he had another younger attorney under him, I was so happy! These three people are so nice!"

"They are!" Ema exclaimed with Athena. "Sometimes I envy you for living a happy professional life together! Well, not quite together, but you guys are like a family! I wish it was… the same when working as a detective, but hey, I can't have everything!"

To this, Athena sighed and dropped her sight to the floor, her mood shifting to melancholy. "Yeah, that's true. I miss the two guys too…" Athena sadly revealed.

"I kinda miss the kiddos too," Ema admitted with a sigh. "Though I never really knew the other astronaut kid, that one seemed to have his life fully ah-"

A sudden, loud clashing sound resonated behind them, nearly piercing Athena's sensitive hearing and prompting Ema to give a short, quick scream of shock. The crashing glass broke into thousands of smaller pieces. The wind following with the cold breeze of December caused them to shiver at the same time. Virtually too scared to turn around, both women tighten their arms around each other to look together at what caused the sudden outburst from the office grand window. They fell into utter stillness, not moving from their spot.

A mysterious young man was rolling among the small glass shatters on the floor. He quickly stood on his feet, his piercing but lifeless eyes glaring at the women. An icing, inhuman growl slipped away from his lips with a slow lick on his fangs. There was no heartbeat from him.

A vampire…

The dark spawn didn't even give any seconds for the women to think cautiously when he swiftly took out a pistol and shot straight in the office main light, causing an unexpected blackout in the place and another scream from the two women. Ema had a gun, but she had never really used one. The weapon quivered hard in her hands when she tried to point the weapon at him.

To their disbelief, the vampire did not attack them. Instead, he leaped from place to place to avoid all possible shots from the detective. When he hid back into the shadows of the dark room, the creature spoke to them with some remnant of insanity.

"W-Where... is she?"

Finally, Ema took her courage and tried to shoot at the voice, but the beast avoided it with more bounces before he spoke again. This time, there was more anger in his voice. "Where is she?!" he ferociously repeated with a roar.

Just when he said those words, another unexpected smaller silhouette came to life in the area. On the other side of the room, a door opened, revealing a shy little Trucy behind it who had timidly lightened up another untouched lamp, lighting the room a little bit and giving a clearer view in the office. Her eyes widened in terror when she saw the vampire. Tears were starting to flow on her cheeks, and miraculously, the young spawn looked appeased by her presence.

The only word coming from the gloomy and frightened young teen girl was:

"Polly?"


	20. The Meetings

_OMG CLIFFHANGER._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 19: The Meetings**

Date: December 23th 2027, 9:01 PM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

"Polly?"

If it wasn't for the wind and the traffic surrounding noises from the outside, there would be a complete silence for few seconds when Trucy called the vampire by his real, familiar name. Athena grasped against the detective when she realized with horror the young vampire standing in front of them was indeed one of the two young men they were incessantly searching for many days.

Apollo…

It couldn't be! The two women didn't even recognize him! What caused the sudden physical change in him? What happened to him? He didn't look like their friend at all! Unless…

Wait, his hair. No antennae. But of course, Trucy would recognize him immediately: he was her dear brother, after all. She must have seen him more than thousands times without gel in his hair now soft and loose to the chilling wind… Oh, and there was his weird, magical bracelet on his left wrist, but without any bright light source, it was hard to notice it. No wonder they didn't know it was him on first sight.

So it had come to this: their friend, the loving older brother… Trucy was right.

He was gone. Her nightmare was real.

Soon, few sobs were heard from the little sister's direction. Somehow, this led her newly reborn brother to faintly back away. Watching his sibling crying appeared to have an effect on him; he recognized he was the cause of her pain.

"P-Polly…" Trucy sniffled, trying to keep her voice under control.

Apollo felt ashamed. "… T-Truce…" he lowly stuttered like he was already admitting defeat.

"W-What… happened to you?" Trucy inaudibly asked, whipping another tear from her eyes.

The older brother did not say anything. The disgrace was the only thought engulfing his mind when he looked at his younger sister right now.

"Y-You always did everything to… protect me, just like that fateful day, in that old church," the desperate girl gently let out. "I'm glad you were always here for me, because you are the best b-big b-brother a little s-sister could have… But… look at you now..."

Then Trucy's tone went louder. She was furiously quibbling at him. "Look what happened to you! You're… you're… barely… even h-human anymore!"

Once again, Apollo remained silent, but he still had his distressed eyes on her.

"You don't deserve this fate!" Trucy cried, her fists clenching toward the floor, her tears streaming across her face. She couldn't bear to stare at him anymore.

It was when her brother straightened up, giving her an innocent gaze and a sympathetic smile to ease her soul. Wasn't that what all big brothers must do when their younger siblings were troubled, right? "Trucy, don't worry, I'm fine…" Apollo softly began.

Trucy raised her eyes to him. She couldn't believe it: he was definitely not fine. "F-Fine?" she asked with her dazed voice.

His eyes went to a more frightening nature when his composed smile shifted into a menacing grin, revealing his sharp fangs. "I'm fine, Trucy," Apollo repeated, almost with pride. "Because I enjoy this new life, these new powerful senses, this freedom, this energy!"

"N-No…" the girl murmured, falling on her knees in completed hopelessness, watching her brother sinking deeper into his unnatural insanity.

"And I want you to join your big brother in this fun! Remember how we always did everything together, go anywhere together? We… need to revive these old times together!"

"No! Get away from me!" Trucy finally screamed in a torturing panic. "You're not my brother! You're not Polly!"

A surprised, short pause came from the vampire. Trucy wouldn't dare to abandon her brother, wouldn't she? Taken by the frustration of his sister's denial, Apollo emitted a feral snarl as he jumped toward her. In the flash of the instant, nearly forgotten in the siblings moments, Ema shot several times, but no bullet found their target. Athena screamed in a desperate attempt to call her former friend's attention. Unfortunately all of her cries went deaf to his ears.

It was the end for the only remaining sane Gramarye child.

Was it? Or will another miracle come to her aid, like every other time?

… It happened again…

Suddenly, an angelic silhouette in a long, majestic white dress appeared from the sky, leaping over the fallen young man. They reached for the beast in their arms tightly to which the monster oddly offered no resistance, at all. Perhaps the beauty of the _angel_ appeased his soul, or was it because the unexpected emergence of new mysterious figure coming into his view caused him to give no time for struggle?

No heart pulse came from the angel.

Apollo was out of the way from Trucy who was still collapsed on the ground, struggling to stop her weeps when she had just been saved by the enigmatic newcomer. She looked at her savior who was still holding tight the young man against them. A particular object stood out from the angel.

A golden bracelet was shining under the feeble light on their right wrist, matching her brother's.

When Apollo frantically turned to his captor, his eyes went wide and a small tear sparkled as he murmured:

"M-Mom…?"

* * *

It wasn't be possible! No, twelve years ago, the news told them, the police told them, everyone told them. The Gramarye magicians were no more, the entire world thought, and there stood a clear contradiction of the fact, right in this chaotic agency.

Thalassa Gramarye, magician and hunter extraordinaire, alive and well, was holding her fallen son, Apollo Justice, in her arms. Her daughter, Trucy Enigmar, was at loss of words to express the sudden truth that was propelled directly before her eyes.

When the real identity of the new vampire came in, a strange slumber took over Apollo. He serenely kept glancing at his sweet mother after she visibly came back from death to find her little family again. Somehow, just before he vanished into a pleasant dream world, a faint smile appeared on the boy who felt like being a kid again, just like the last time he had met the Gramarye adults. His mother remained the same beautiful, divine young woman he remembered when he was eleven years old, like an ageless angel.

No one dared to move, no one dared to speak. They watched the woman clutching against the sleeping young man like a little child while she softly called him repeatedly by his name.

"Apollo, please forgive me… Apollo… please…"

Slowly but hesitantly, Trucy approached the woman in a sort of shy manner, tilting her head slightly on the side and carefully staring at her. Still scared but confident, Athena made a step forward the magician when she got closer to the dark angel. "Trucy, she's a vampire!" the attorney warned.

However, Trucy ignored her friend and her curiosity won over everything while she came closer to the woman, her mouth wide open with perplexity. The nearer she got, the more she shuddered. "Are you really… our mom?" Trucy whispered to the woman.

The vampire's glance went tranquilly on the girl. The mother was nearly unable to direct her eyes on the magician's piercing blue pupils. "Trucy…" the woman melancholically called. "No mother would forget their own children."

It was really… their mother…

"M-Mom, you're alive… Tell me… Then… t-then… why d-did you a… ah… abandon us?" Trucy's tone trembled as her comment progressed.

As the mother gently placed her unconscious son on the ground, another smaller shadow who looked strangely familiar appeared by the window. When the small light revealed the face of the shadow, Trucy recognized those cute, childish cheeks of the vampire kid who saved her on that fateful day. "Machi?" the young girl called.

"Trucy! You live!" the not-so-young boy called with a wide and reassuring smile upon seeing the girl safe.

Somehow, seeing the vampire boy back gave her a tiny smile, but Trucy was still in a confused state after meeting her mother for the first time since her tender childhood. The sentiment deepened when the truth of seeing her parent reborn as one of them hit her. "Machi, w-what are you doing here with M-Mom?" Trucy asked him, surprised by his presence in this unusual circumstance.

Instead of replying, Machi gave a nod to the woman, letting her answer. Her soft, pure voice was a lullaby to their ears, soothing their mind as she spoke. "Machi… was the one who told me about you and your brother," the mother replied, gently biting her lips. "He recognized the bracelet Apollo was wearing, because I wear the same one. He remembered I once told him about you two, how I missed you and how… I would have liked to see you once again, one day…"

Trucy's eyes were filled with anger. "But why didn't you come back!?" the young teen dejectedly objected.

"I-I couldn't… Trucy dear, please, understand me…" Thalassa desperately tried to protest. "When Machi went back to find your brother and his friend after he brought you to this agency, they already disappeared from the church. He followed them by their scents, but he lost their traces at one point. He came to find me to tell about the possibility of what happened to them, and I… decided to come back and find you…"

"I… did not expect to see my son as a fallen one…"

Crushed by the shame and the dread of seeing her offspring as one of these degenerated creatures, she let herself fall on her knees, her hands leaning against the floor, tears streaming on her cheeks. Watching her mother in such depressing state caused Trucy's anger to lightly fade away like a melting ice on her heart. Her soul gradually warmed up to her sorrow, comforting the mother's misery.

The chaos filled Trucy's mind while she tried to replace all the facts together in her confused thoughts. Everything came so fast. Firstly, it was her brother's distressing fate of becoming an eternal, mindless spawn of hell. Secondly came his insane wish for her to join him in this same twisted doom. Finally, the mother she had thought to be gone from this world since her young age came back from the death as another creature of the night, a kind one, to save her from the same doom.

Just when she was still gathering her thoughts in order, another unexpected clashing sound made its way in the agency, prompting another sudden scream from the two forgotten human women, detective and attorney alike. The swift shadow leapt over the slumbering vampire and quickly grabbed him to return outside like a flashy wind. With a jolt, Trucy and the mother made a step forward the kidnapped sleeping young man, desperately calling his name.

Yet, Thalassa could clearly see the shadow and she trailed after them as they jumped on the other building roof. Seeing the distress on the mother, little Machi followed behind. The three other girls simply stayed in the agency room, dumbfounded when all the vampires disappeared from their sight.

Trucy fell on her knees again, crying.

Everything went so fast, indeed.

* * *

The scene that welcomed Thalassa left her speechless.

Right over there, on the building roof, stood another of her kind, a peculiarly familiar young man carefully checking on her slumbering son. The man bore a worried expression while eyeing the sleeping one, trying to wake him up in a panicked, desperate way. Nevertheless he couldn't, of course: unbeknownst to the young man, the vampire mother was unwillingly controlling the sleeping condition of her child. What a way to prevent him from causing more hazards…

Like a lightning bolt that struck on her back, Thalassa immediately recognized him. She couldn't budge from her spot anymore.

"E-Eros!?" the woman called, her eyes wide open.

The other young man finally turned his eyes to her and when he realized who the one calling for him was, he froze. "Thalassa…!" Eros's feeble, trembling voice called back, glaring at the woman he used to call his wife. Yet, instead of the joy Thalassa had expected to see from her old husband, she was welcomed by a rather sad and chaotic tone from him. "So… you too are… part of us… You're… controlling little Pollo, I see…"

Soon, however, his confusion shifted to an unusual rage when a low growl emanated from his mouth along his furrowed brows appearing on his still apprehensive face. He pulled the sleeping one closer to him like a kid refusing to give up his favorite plushie.

"Eros!" Thalassa cried again, slowly backing away from him with a sorrowful tone. "What happened? I thought you… died!"

The anger was slightly fading away from the young man, but it came back when he answered. "I didn't…"

Thalassa's expression crumbled to absolute grief when she could feel the great darkness in him. The Eros she remembered in her teen ages was an innocent, passionate father and husband. That one standing before her was a mere spawn led by madness and hunger. "You have succumbed to your… darkness," Thalassa expressed with low sobs.

Her sad comment caused a sudden loud roar from the wrathful husband. "Darkness? You think this is darkness?" Eros spitted out, his shaking fist nearly ready to hit anything that'd come close to him. "How's our way of living the 'darkness' when all we do is survive? All predators have preys, and we're no exception!"

"Eros…"

Eros ignored her. "Have you seen what humans are doing to this mother Earth? Look at all the animal species that have disappeared because of them! And we, 'creatures of darkness', get rid of few humans, for our own survival!"

"Tell me, Thalassa, how's that we are the 'darkness', and they are the 'light'?"

The icy tone of her old husband caused her to shiver from all sides. There was no way she'd be able to reason him when he had already been lost by the changes of having been reborn. However, her attention shifted back to the one clutched against him. She felt her soul collapsing with pity; their dear firstborn's expression looked so peaceful. It felt exactly like when her tender, newly born baby son slept in her husband's arms, twenty-three long years ago. "Eros, please…" Thalassa softly started. "Don't… do this to our son… Don't do this to Apollo…"

Yet, it was clearly already too late for Apollo.

Of course, Eros was not listening. Stubborn like a mule, he just raged on. "I've never got to enjoy my time as a father. You disappeared with him, leaving me behind, thinking I was dead. The thought of coming back to check what happened to your loving husband never came to you, Thal? Maybe it would have been much better for me if I let that vampire devour me until the end, after all!"

"That way, I would have never learned about your desertion of your two children."

Thalassa froze.

"I couldn't find you anymore, and I wanted… to see Apollo grow up, become a successful kid, hear him call me Daddy. You had all those years with him, and now it's my turn!"

In a way, Eros was childishly right. Thalassa did abandon him. She never came back to their old home, back in their time in Borginia, to check if her husband survived or not. However, whenever she reminded herself of his painful scream after obeying her lover as she ran away from the place, clutching their baby son against her chest… There was no way he could… have survived that vampire attack.

And if he did survive the creature's bite, then only one destiny awaited him: the darkness of the everlasting night.

Exactly what happened to him, in the end.

She was only able to mutter: "Eros darling…" which only deepened the rage in the young man's soul. He let out another piercing snarl at her.

"And don't you dare calling me 'darling' ever again!" he furiously roared, his teeth gritting such Thalassa could hear the tiny gnashing sound from his mouth. "Not after you married another man, and that Shadi jerk above everyone else!"

While giving a cold glare to the woman he used to love in his younger days, the young father held the sleeping son on his shoulders and turned his back away from the crying mother, leaving an emotionless "Good bye, Thalassa."

And he jumped away with the still son, disappearing in the darkness once again. They were gone.

Somehow, Thalassa could not follow him since she drowned herself into overwhelming sobs.

Machi had watched the entire thing from afar and frowned. He wished he could help her in some manner, but what could he do? Thalassa's son and Trucy's brother was already lost, and there was no way to make him come back into a life of sanity. Regretfully, he wished he had never told her about the young man's bracelet, because it was for that very reason Thalassa was sad now.

* * *

Date: December 23th 2027, 9:01 PM  
Place: Terran Family's Home, Entrance

Phoenix was glad the Terran family's home was not that far from the agency, his own home, and he loved the walking exercise. On the way to his not so far destination, he hoped, even slightly, to find one single hint that could tell about his protégés' whereabouts, but of course, he found none. He sighed at the thought and he gave away a silly lonely smile.

After all, the two kids were alive for sure.

On the two third way of the road, Phoenix realized he hadn't called the astronaut's father at all of his visit. He rushed a hand inside a pocket for his old trustworthy cellphone. He gave the man a call, but there was no answer from the other side of the line. Well, that type of no response happened often, especially when the father had been assaulted by calls and journalists from everywhere since his son disappeared from sight. If anything, a grand event of multi-millions had been cancelled from Clay's absence, and the government might not be really pleased about this.

The Terran's residence was quite a grand house. Mr. Terran had been working as an engineer for a multinational plane building company, which was apparently one of the reasons for Clay's interest of space. No wonder the father was able to afford a nice home in this quiet, rich district of the city, with many tall leaves and palm trees surrounding the place.

When Phoenix arrived to his destination, there was something off about the place. The entrance door was left wide opened, and of course, no one was here to welcome him. No one should leave their door opened like that, especially at night when vampires were lurking around. When he proceeded to go through the entrance unarmed, he noticed the unusual mess that was spreading all around the interior, with broken pots, glasses and even moved furniture. Was there someone who broke into their house?

"Mr. Terran?" the lawyer and hunter called the man, but he still got no reply. The eerie silence of the place was definitely not a good sign. He took his phone again and dialed the father's number once more.

Strangely enough, he could hear the ringtone playing somewhere from the floor above.

Phoenix carefully climbed the stairs, still leaving his phone calling the other device, and followed the sound of the ringtone. The horror hit him soon when he could smell an oddly familiar scent: blood. And the louder the ringtone music was heard, the smellier the blood scent hit his nostrils.

Then he heard few slow and heavy breaths. Were they from Mr. Terran?

The hunter rushed to the master bedroom which appeared to be the father's room. To his surprise and terror, the only thing that welcomed him was the inert corpse of the poor father in question. A pistol was close to his body and a clear view of the side of his head offered itself, his interior flesh exposed by a single bullet. The man's lifeless orbits were still wide open and traces of nearly dried tears were visible on his now colder cheeks.

From the look of it, Mr. Terran shot himself…

Where did the breathing sounds come from, then? He had not heard any gunshot, so what appeared to be a sad suicide act must have happened about a dozen minutes ago. From the look of it, the man's body was still warm.

The fright froze his veins when he wandered his curious glance around the room. He noticed another young man, sitting on the bed, crouching with his head on his knees, miserably sobbing alone while looking nowhere in particular. His messy, raven colored hair seemed to have lost their vivacity. With a surprised jump, Phoenix recognized him immediately.

Finally, he found one of them, at last.

"Clay!" Phoenix worriedly called the crying boy.

Upon drawing his attention on the newcomer in the room, Clay sadly looked up to his friend's mentor, glaring at the man in a miserable, innocent way. "Mr. Wright…?" the gloomy young man murmured.

When the boy finally reacted, Phoenix made a careful step forward him. Somehow, the boy's presence in this house was too abnormal to be true. After all, Clay had been lost for more than a week and was suddenly found back inside his very home. With his dead father at his feet, something definitely wasn't ringing well to him. "Clay! You're alive!" the lawyer called again, somewhat happy to see him, until he turned his concern back to the deceased older man. "What happened? You didn't do this, didn't you?"

It was when Clay's sobs turned into uncontrollable shivers. "… I… I can't…" he whispered with a rather wretched tone.

Phoenix was definitely worried about the boy. Why would his loving father, the one who fell into a deep despair when he was unsure of his son's whereabouts, took away his own life upon seeing his only family back? Surely, Clay couldn't have done this, couldn't he? There was no way he'd murder anyone; not Klavier, not his partner Daryan, and certainly not his beloved father!

"Of course, you can't do this!" Phoenix exclaimed in a concerned, sympathetic way. "It's your father! Who-"

"No… I can't… I can't!" Clay interrupted. His words were becoming unsteady and loud to the point he reached a certain morbid irrationality. There was definitely something devious about him.

"Clay?" Phoenix called the boy, and this time, his instincts told him his gun might be needed, just in case… "What's the matter? What's happening with you?"

Suddenly, Clay bounced on the bed, nearly landing like a wild predator, his mouth hanging and watering with a ferocious hunger. Revealing his brutish fangs, he loudly murmured to himself: "I… can't… stop myself…" He leapt on the corpse of his old man and started chewing and licking directly on the bloodied wound on the side of the head, savoring in the most delectable manner the blood that was still flowing like a pure stream.

Somehow, Phoenix was unable to react to this terrifying sight. He had been used to see evil vampires doing their deeds, but never had he seen a closer acquaintance doing such barbaric, feral act.

The hunter tried to regain the absolute control of himself, trying to keep his gun steady in his hands. "No, Clay… You… you fell…" he delivered these frightened words.

However, Clay childishly ignored Phoenix's words. After his hunger had been quickly quenched, he gently lifted up his head, directing his sight to the ceiling, practically speaking like a mad psychotic child. This actually petrified the hunter. "I… I wanted my dad… to join us, but… but he didn't want to… So he took his pistol and shot himself…"

Wait a second. _To join us?_

Did Clay mean… he was not alone in this? Wasn't he the only one who had been reborn into one of these… creatures of the night?

That meant… Apollo too…

Finally, Phoenix managed to take control of himself once again and he skillfully pointed his small gun at the fallen boy. "Don't move!" he shouted at the vampire.

When the gun went into Clay's sight, the boy clenched his teeth and furrowed his brows with a loud growl escaping his mouth, ready to defend himself against his friend's former mentor. But Phoenix was a fast hunter.

He shot before Clay could even jump.

To his relief, Phoenix did not use his regular gun, but the one Ema had lent him.

Clay precipitously backed away, watching the small dart stuck deep in his left leg. He ferociously took it away and made a step forward Phoenix with another vicious snarl. However, as soon as his first step was made, his legs were quickly failing him and the rest of his body followed in a matter of seconds. Clay fell flat on the floor, just in front of Phoenix. In a last desperate attempt to reach for the hunter, the boy's trembling hand lowly raised itself but fell back like a dull rock.

At least Ema's little gun worked like charm. The vampire couldn't do anything against her science.

Yet, Phoenix was unable to feel victorious over this, especially when he stared at the young man on the floor. The poor kid was slowly breathing like a sickled child, his eyes still squinting, struggling to keep them wide.

Even if the pitied feeling toward the boy was close to its peak, Phoenix didn't take any chance and he used his handcuffs to attach Clay's hands from behind. Looking at the weakened former astronaut who used to be full of life in this state nearly crushed the hunter's spirits, but he had to remain strong and formal. Emotions won't bring Clay back to his human life, anyway.

"Where's Apollo?" Phoenix asked his new prisoner.

Upon hearing the question, a sarcastic, dark smirk formed on the exhausted vampire's mouth, and once again, these chilling fangs sullied of disgusting blood revealed themselves. "N… No idea…" Clay simply responded, but Phoenix knew it was an obvious lie.

So that was it. Clay and probably Apollo too have become vampires during their disappearance. Who could have done this to the boys? Only the fiercest vampires would think of bringing more human beings on their sides. Most importantly, the first thing Clay had thought after being reborn was to bring his own father to the dark side with him, to complete his family. If that was the case, then there was a fat chance Apollo went for someone similar, and his only family was his little sister, Trucy.

After putting a type of muzzled mask on Clay to avoid being accidentally bitten by the newly fallen one, Phoenix quickly dialed Athena's cellphone number.

* * *

_**Author's note**__: Yes, I am completely aware that the scene with Thalassa and Eros could very well be in a cheesy soap opera._


	21. A Mother's Tale

_I was half-asleep while doing changes in this chapter. Mistakes might be found but you can still mention them! :)_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 20: A Mother's Tale**

Date: December 23th 2027, 9:30 PM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

In some utter panic and sadness, Athena could feel the bullets sweating all around her shaken body while she was speaking to Mr. Wright over the phone. "Oh no! So Clay too!?" she yelled out, horrified.

"_Yeah, I'm sorry_," her mentor expressed over the phone. "_And Mr. Terran's gone too. Apparently, he couldn't bear to see his son reborn into one of them_."

A frown and a small tear appeared on the junior lawyer as she learned of the father's gloomy fate. "Poor Mr. Terran," she began. "He must have felt awful about all of this, with all the stress of the cancelled launch and mainly losing his remaining family... First, his late wife, and now his son…"

"_It's true, but enough of this. We need to get at the bottom of this fast. I'm going to need a lift from Simon. I can't really drag a weak Clay around the city, I'd look like the suspicious one…_"

"All right, thanks for letting us know. I'll give Simon a call to get you back here."

While Athena called her prosecutor friend, another discussion took place in the owner's bedroom. Leaning against the head of the bed, Trucy was glaring at nothing in particular, her thoughts trying to get rid of everything: the poor teen just wished to be alone. Of course, Thalassa couldn't bear to see her own daughter in such depressing state, but the mother had chosen to come back in the world of living, and maternal duty called her.

"Trucy, please, I… want to take a good look on you!" Thalassa begged, her eyes half-closed, her lids trying to contain her tears.

Trucy feigned on listening to her and she simply buried her head further between her knees like an unwilling kid. "Will you, at least, let me tell you the reason why I… didn't come back for you and your brother?"

Finally, the teen girl slowly raised her eyes to her mother and she gave away a weak nod. Thalassa warmly smiled at her. "I still remember… that day, twelve years ago. Uncle Valant, your father and I left you for another one of these hunting sessions. We trusted Apollo's skill as a big brother to take care of you while we were gone for few hours."

"Unfortunately, that hunting session didn't go so well."

A morbid curiosity took over Trucy. In reality, she wished to learn about that fateful, unexpected event that had literally ruined her family. Her ears were now more willing to hear the reasons for her mother's disappearance.

"There was a vampire raid. They were about ten of them. Ten vampires against three hunters was a lost cause, and they were armed."

"Your father, Zak, was the first to fall. I'll spare you the details, but oh, how I cried when I saw him being devoured by half of them. They went after him first because he was the strongest of the three of us."

In a childish fashion, Trucy hoped her father was still alive and well, just like her mother, even if he was reborn as a vampire. Unfortunately, she vaguely remembered when Apollo had told her only her father's inert body was found on the crime scene. Even if she was already used to the idea of her father never coming back, she felt like sulking about how destiny was not very fair to her.

"Uncle Valant, he had been shot in the chest and was left for dead."

"As for myself, one of them started devouring me, and, like your uncle, I was… left for dead. Soon after, the vampires were gone, leaving us in our pool of blood."

"However, Uncle Valant and I survived, like a miracle. I… could feel the dark changes inside me, and… I was unable to stop them. I thought of… killing myself, but I couldn't somehow…"

"…because I thought of my two children."

The young girl froze. Their mother never stopped to love them, after all. From the look of it, never the woman had been telling lies during her story so far. Of course Thalassa wouldn't; she was the one who gifted her two children her genetic gift to see through lies. Trucy's heart felt like melting over her mother's little tale and she wasn't sure if she had to hate her or pity her for abandoning them in their fate anymore.

"I asked… Valant to do the deed of killing me instead, but… he couldn't either. As you probably know, killing a human in the process of becoming a vampire is legal. Valant was a pretentious man and sometimes people found him to be the annoying one of our trio, but he would never hurt his little magician family, even for a good cause..."

"Shameful for my doom and for the death of your father, Valant had decided to exile himself from the world. I have no idea where he had gone, or even if he's still alive to this day, but I bear no ill toward the man. It was not his fault."

"And as for I… I could not live with my children anymore. I became a vampire, and I was afraid that… one day or another, I'd devour you both, or worse, bring you to the darkness with me… Because I admit that was one of the first thoughts that came to me when the hunger kicked in…"

So that was the real reason behind her mother's disappearance. Yet, Trucy was unable to imagine her being the mindless, evil vampire like the one who took off with her brother. Looking back on the older woman, all she could see were pure and gentle eyes: not even an inch of darkness was visible in them.

"But I was really fortunate that little Machi caught me in time before I fell alone into the abyss of the nightmare. I had refused to eat anything for the first days of being reborn, but Machi taught me that I had to eat to keep my sanity. The best way of doing so was hunting for animals instead and never feeling the hunger again. After all, when we were humans, we all ate animals, don't we? So it wasn't that bad at all!"

A sad laugh escaped from the mother's lips with her not too funny fact, but it slightly lightened the mood in the room. Even Trucy gave a little grin on the comment. "Though… Poor Eros… he was a vegetarian because he loved animals and he wouldn't even hurt a fly…" Thalassa murmured to herself. Trucy winced at the name.

"Eros Justice, Polly's daddy…" Trucy whispered along her mother, her head sinking in a little melancholy. How she missed her brother.

"It was probably harder on him, I think…" Thalassa wretchedly expressed to her daughter. "He had lost his family, he was probably alone in his fate and I doubt he met someone like Machi to help him. If he had been with us from the very beginning, even reborn, I'm sure he would have been the best father a child could have."

"The old Eros loved Apollo so much, even when his existence was kinda… accidental… I understand why his father would use the most twisted methods to get him back in his life…"

However, Trucy was shaking her fists with anger when the compassion from her mother for the foolish vampire was visibly obvious. "Mom," the girl started lowly, and her tone took up some vigor as she carried on. "You can't let that Eros guy do that to Polly! Now, he's just using my brother for his own sake!"

Thalassa felt like her life was crumbling in front of her, with only Trucy remaining by her side. As the regrets invaded her soul, the mother gently approached her daughter to give her a long hug with a small kiss on her forehead. The magician jolted on the act with a quiver that followed in her spine.

Trucy now remembered the so-called lucky charm her mother would use before every hunting sessions: the kiss on the forehead.

"Trucy, you and Apollo were my lucky charms, and you still are," the mother gently revealed.

"But… I must accept the fact that Apollo is now part of the darkness, and… there's nothing we can do about it. Even I, his mother, have nothing in my resource to help him. I can always… take control of him all the time, but I cannot bear to see my own son as an empty shell…"

Whenever she heard about the mind controlling power of the parent vampires, Trucy's veins tense at the thought of losing her will to move or think of her own. She was scared of that power, and Thalassa could see it well. This prompted a divine smile to her daughter. "Don't worry, my dear child," Thalassa softly declared. "I'll never do that to you."

At the very instant, another sudden and blunt voice came to them from behind, interrupting their beloved family moment. "You know, there's still hope for your son."

The Gramarye girls turned to the voice and discovered a spying Ema from the room door. For few seconds, Thalassa's eyes shined with a little faith. "H-Hope?" the mother expressed.

Of course! Why didn't Trucy tell her mother about it before? All the recent events made her forget about everything.

Metis's researches, the hope for vampires!

* * *

Date: December 23th 2027, 9:42 PM  
Place: ?

A cold, yet gentle breeze whistled across his warm cheeks. He gradually opened his eyes, listening to the melodic wind of a soothing lullaby he recognized from his childhood, and a faint smile appeared on his lips, thinking of his dearest mother. How he missed her.

"M-Mom…" he quietly called, burrowing himself deeper into the arms of the one who held him warmly in their arms, still in his half-awakened state.

However, the smile on his face vanished as soon as he realized the one holding him was a male figure, the one who'd call himself his own loving father. Suddenly, the affection he felt for his mother's lullaby turned into a slight fear. When the vampire father noticed the boy's glare when it crossed his, his lips curled up in a kind and gentle way.

"Hey, how are you doing, Pollo?" Eros mildly asked while he released Apollo from his arms.

Confused, Apollo blinked and turned his eyes around, examining the surrounding. Where were they exactly? It looked like the city where he lived, but something was off about it.

Wait, he realized he was standing on the top of a high building, safe from the views. Acknowledging that he was above more than fifteen floors, he suddenly backed away, falling awkwardly on his butt, not even daring to look to the streets below. Several deep breaths came in and out from his mouth from the fear of heights that definitely wouldn't go away no matter what, even after being reborn into something else.

"Huh, what's the matter? Are you feeling well?" Eros dumbly questioned.

The question caused Apollo to feel a little silly about himself to the point he let out a small shy chuckle. "Hum, actually, I'm afraid of heights…" the boy responded.

The reply caused the father to release a sympathetic laugh. "You'll get used to it," Eros declared. "Give it some times; you're still new into this… business."

When the tension from the silly fear dissipated in the air, Eros used the time to sit down beside Apollo. How funny, side by side, they both looked like they could be some sort of brothers, having similar hair, same eyes and same body type. Eros was still slightly smaller, but not by that much.

In reality, Apollo didn't find the moment alone with the fatherly boy that pleasant. He still resented him for what he had done, but he was terrified the father will use his… odd power to take his will away from him. To this, Eros merely gave a friendly pat on his son's back as a sign that he didn't have to be worried about anything. "So, tell me, Apollo," the boy began with a smile. "How do you like the new changes?"

However, and with slight revulsion, Apollo couldn't lie about it; he really did enjoy these new powers and senses, and he was more than grateful to get a taste of human blood. Thinking of the next feast soothed his mind and he was eagerly anticipating the next hunting session, a real thrilling hunt for food. The thought about it made him scrumptiously lick his lips and his new fangs. "I love them," Apollo admitted, and this time, he smirked on his words.

Obviously, the answer satisfied the other young man. It seemed the transformation on his son went successfully through and through, including the mind changes. "That's good to hear. We'll go hunt for more humans soon, I promise," the father said.

Hearing the word "humans" prompted Apollo to remember more than he needed to. To him, his human life was already a thing of the past, but one particular concern refused to budge from his memories no matter how hard he wished to let it go. After all, that one used to be his most cherished treasure, and even now, he still thought of her as one.

Trucy, his little sister.

"I was so close to get Trucy…" Apollo growled, his fists shaking with anger.

When he heard the name, Eros faintly shuddered. He wasn't too keen on meeting this famous stepdaughter of his, especially being the daughter of a man he didn't really like back in his old life. Yet, if his son was so devoted to her, she must not be too similar to Shadi at the very least, that old jerk! How Thalassa had chosen that man for her second husband was a complete mystery to him.

Nevertheless, as a father, Eros had the duty to make his child happy.

"Listen to me, son," Eros started, laying a hand on Apollo's shoulder. "We'll get your little sister Trucy with us no matter what, and I'll help you with everything."

A sudden realization hit the young father and he frowned at the thought. "But things are going to get harder if your mother hangs around. She's your parent too, and she can… take away your willpower."

A grief went through Apollo when he listened to Eros speaking about his dear mother like she was a hindrance. He had missed her so much during all these past years, and the thought of seeing her as a simple obstacle to his goal disgusted him.

Because of the obvious tension from the son, Eros went for another question that would jolt the young boy into some kind of shock. "Say, Apollo, how do you… see me in your… family?"

A silence from the confused son welcomed the young father, and somehow, a slight frustration appeared on the latter. "You… don't want to answer?" Eros asked, nearly to the point of insanity, giving a light fear on the other one.

Apollo finally answered, almost fearing of what may come from what he was going to say. "I-I'm sorry, Eros, I can't… see you as my father…"

To this, Apollo firmly clenched his fingers while straightly positioning his fists on the ground, slightly shaking them, biting his lips and closing his eyes. He was waiting for the young man to take over his mind out of frustration once again, just like when he first met him on that significant day. He was virtually ready for this.

However, to his astonishment and joy, he could still control himself. He frenetically looked at his fingers before he moved them freely and he quickly blinked few times repeatedly. In the final, he turned his sight to the other one and he felt relieved when all he could see on the father's face was an expression of kindness with a half-smile on his lips. "Apollo, I don't blame you," Eros gently revealed.

Despite all that wall of sympathy the young man expressed, Apollo clearly saw the unexpected tension from him while he gripped onto his tightening bracelet around his wrist. Was Eros lying when he mentioned he didn't blame him?

Eros's smile widened at the sight of his son's little move. "So you got her power too…" the father told him, a nostalgia emerging from his emotions. "Guess I can't lie with my words and my feelings to you," he continued before he let out a small laugh to himself.

"Mom…" Apollo felt like repeating. The thought of his mother couldn't suddenly go away.

"Thalassa, she's the one to blame!" Eros furiously accused with a snarl. "She's the one who… took you away…"

Apollo was unable to say more. He didn't wish to continue this conversation. To his fortune, Eros seemed to have noticed it. "I'm going to check on Clay," Apollo spurted out suddenly as he stood up, wanting to change the subject. "He'll probably need help to bring his father with us."

Eros's grin came back with chuckle. "Yeah, let's go!" he exclaimed, all eager to accompany him into some father and son's activity.

* * *

Date: December 23th 2027, 9:51 PM  
Place: Terran Family's Home, Entrance

Phoenix was unsure what he'll have to do with the whole event. He was inside the home of his employee's friend, where laid the body of a man who took away his own life. It was where a son newly turned into a vampire was found clutching against himself in a type of grief from witnessing the suicide of his own father. Then the son had to devour a part of him. And not only that, but he had to learn despite all that his own lawyer protégé was now part of the creatures of darkness, hanging around somewhere without really knowing where he had gone. On the top of that, the one who fled with his pupil was his long lost father! The hunter sure had smoother days in his past life.

Of course he was going to be the main suspect in this suicide that might be seen as a murder. However, he was used to these types of accusations, and every time, he managed to claim his rightful innocent verdict. He couldn't call the police now, especially with a half-awakened vampire at his feet who used to be such a kind young man; the police will kill him on the spot. He was glad it was dark outside, with no moon above when clouds covered everything. That way, no passing human beings might possibly see him while he now stood like a creeping stalker in front of the Terran's house, with a restrained down Clay hidden from the public view at the entrance door.

The eerie silence of the moment felt scary thanks to the cold season which caused all surrounding insects and animals to stay quiet in their natural world, all busy in their dreaming state. Phoenix could even clearly hear the small repetitive breathings from the space boy. Whenever his stare crossed his, there was a short furious growl from the former astronaut's chords.

Poor kid, he thought. Clay had just missed the goal of his life, falling so far down below. Right now, he could have been a famous space pilot, walking over the moon, collecting samples for the future of the planet. But no, he was left on the dirty ground, giving a menacing glare to his captor like a miserable, brutal animal. His dreams were totally forgotten from the newly reborn spawn of darkness. His aspirations were now replaced by a ferocious hunger for human blood that would constantly control his new instincts and moves.

Phoenix looked back on his cellphone for another time. It had been few minutes since the call with Athena, and he felt like waiting for an eternity. From what he heard, Simon was a moderated fast driver, so it shouldn't take long for him to get here. Trying to avoid any random glance from the vampire, he decided to take his time to ponder how to explain the police what happened.

"_Think, Phoenix, think!_" he spoke to himself. "_I guess I'll just tell Simon to bring Clay to the lab, and I'll stay here and call the police. Hopefully, the preliminary investigation will really lead to a suicide. If not, I guess I'll have to defend myself in court, again_…"

* * *

He could clearly see him from the top of this tree.

Over there, his best friend Clay laid inert, slowly breathing, fighting his unnatural slumber at the feet of this human hunter, _his_ former mentor. As he allowed the anger to flow through himself, Apollo let out a savage growl to unleash his furious state of mind. The instinct provoked him to prepare a leap on the hunter to devour him and save his dear friend, even making him forget about his fear of heights from where he stood. However, a hand firmly set on his shoulder to stop him.

"Apollo, don't go," Eros told him, giving him a confident smile.

"Why not?!" Apollo frantically replied. "That human's going to do something to Clay! I can't just watch him getting away with it!"

"I'll go," Eros revealed, more self-assured than ever, and Apollo finally let himself quiet down. "You're still a rookie and I've been on this side much longer. That human below is a hunter and I bet a pretty clever one. I'm going to save Clay and I'll let you feast on the man, and we're all going to be happy."

The comment gave a sentimental feeling to the new vampire. Looking back on the hunter reminded himself of all the good moments they shared in his past life. "I… know that hunter," Apollo wistfully admitted. "He was my law mentor, kinda… Mr. Wright."

Eros gave his son a perplexed look before he chuckled. "Oh yes, I forgot you were a lawyer," the father let out, almost scornfully. "But I guess it's a thing of the past, right?"

Spotting the deeper melancholy hitting the son whenever the discussion of the mentor came in, Eros decided to drop the bomb with another vengeful comment. "Didn't you tell me that Mr. Wright was the one to blame for the execution of your former old mentor and savior, that Mr. Kristoph Gavin?"

The anger came back to Apollo upon hearing this, causing him to let out another growl, making him grind his teeth like an enraged wolf. "Mr. Wright used you, he's using your sister Trucy, and now he's going to use Clay."

"Mr. Wright…" Apollo heatedly grunted.

"Wish me luck!" Eros exclaimed, preparing to jump from the top of the tree.

* * *

It took a while, but it seemed the sedative had finally led the vampire to drift in and out from the reality surrounding him. His eyes were either half or fully closed, and the growls had momentarily stopped, thankfully. Phoenix hated to hear them, especially from this kid.

Patience was usually one of his best virtues, but tonight, Phoenix sensed something watching him from afar. He couldn't put his hands on what exactly, but he kept looking around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Well, except for the boy on the ground.

Suddenly, a tension came from that boy who abruptly glared toward the sky above, his eyes opened wide like something had drawn his unexpected interest. Quickly, Phoenix didn't take the time to think about why Clay was acting that way: he immediately took out his pistol and shot above his head to find a shadow flying toward him like the wind. The hunter gracefully ducked the shadow that came to him and shot another time, but he kept missing his fast target.

As the shadow ran back into the bushes, hiding from the view, a loud, sarcastic laugh escaped the spawn's mouth, somehow annoying the hunter. "My, my, Clay, this is not how you hide the presence of a buddy from a lone hunter!" the voice cried out with a disdain tone, and Phoenix shuddered at it.

"Apollo!?" Phoenix hollered to the voice, recognizing it as being his.

The small instant of inattention from the hunter gave enough time for the vampire to leap on his prey from the darkness, but Phoenix managed to grab the smaller body and brutally shoved it to the ground, straight under a light pole. This caused the vampire to let out a painful roar as he hit the concrete. Now Phoenix could clearly see the face of his attacker.

Wait, it was not Apollo, but hell, the young vampire really looked like him.

So it must be _him_, the father.

When Phoenix prepared to shoot once more, unfortunately there was not enough time to confidently grip on his pistol. The vampire immediately made his forceful bounce on him and tossed the gun away. Phoenix fell on his back and watched the creature letting escape a sharp hiss before he went for his neck.

That was the end for him too…

… Until he heard a gunshot with a blood splatter from a newly opened wound on the vampire's chest.

The creature painfully barked on the ground, clenching on the bullet that went through him with blood pouring out of his wound. Even in the spur of the adrenaline rush, Phoenix sighed of relief when he got up, watching the vampire still crouching on the ground who was unable to raise back on his feet. He looked around to see a new car parked away from few dozen meters afar and another familiar hunter stood beside it, a gun pointed toward their direction.

The prosecutor Simon Blackquill had finally arrived.

Simon rushed to the scene, still watching all the surrounding in case of an eventual attack, his gun ready to take on another of these creatures. Phoenix had never been so thankful to see the young man approaching him. By chance, Simon also had a pair of handcuffs ready and immediately jumped on the injured vampire to put these around his wrists. "I can't thank you enough, Simon!" Phoenix expressed, the pressure now gone from his face before he glared at the now calming but growling vampire.

"No need," Simon let know. "We're in dire need of test subjects, after all. I guess two might be enough for tonight."

Upon hearing his shooter's comment, the vampire slightly panicked. "T-Test subjects!?" the perplexed dark spawn blurted out, fearfully glaring at the prosecutor. Simon's eyes went wide when he took a more careful look on his captive's face.

"Is that Justice-dono?!" Simon asked with stupor.

"No, it's the other one," Phoenix replied. "Well, technically, he's also Mr. Justice… Athena must have told you about what happened to the two kids. That one's the old man." It felt so strange calling that vampire "old man" when Phoenix himself appeared to be twice his age.

Despite his agonizing injury, a smirk appeared on the young vampire's face while he listened to the two humans. In a kind of odd, twisted satisfaction, he was glad these two humans were acquaintances of his two new protégés. After all, the shock they'll go through when they'll see his son will probably render them speechless. While the two humans discussed of their shenanigans, his attention focused back on the one high on the trees.

He called out for him without even letting out a word.

Just like a swift lightning bolt, a shadow precipitously leapt close to the wounded vampire, swiftly grabbing him in his arms, giving no time for either Simon or Phoenix to ready their weapons. When both humans were finally able to glance at the shadow, they froze.

Apollo was there, clutching his bleeding old man against him. He quickly stared back at the two humans with those hollow, lifeless eyes, like an empty ghost shell. On the young father's face, a grin was coated on his lips.

It only took few very short seconds before Apollo and the other one disappeared once again in the dark night, too fast for the humans to ready their gun and to follow them.

Just as the vampire father predicted, the two hunters were left speechless.

Finally, the forgotten new vampire on the ground was left into a sweet slumber, abandoned by his two night friends. At least, the humans might be able to save one of the two reborn ones.


	22. The Familiar Subject

_I obviously fail at action scenes. Also, chapters like this one are the reason why this fic is rated T and another reason why I hesitated to post this fic…_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 21: The Familiar Subject**

Date: December 25th 2027, 3:05 PM  
Place: Brellaum Laboratory, Cells Room

Today was a merry day of celebrations. Families gathered together and showed the rest their love for life on this Christmas holiday. Luckier children were checking on their new and exciting gifts. Parents were watching them enjoying their fun. Others were simply appreciating their lives with everyone, discussing of everything and nothing about their yearly accomplishments, their jobs and their wishes for next year.

Of course, Trucy wasn't taking part in any of these festivities. Neither were her surroundings.

This was Trucy and Athena's first visit in this laboratory where Ema's friends were employed, but in this holiday, none of them were working right now. Well, maybe except Ema herself, but she wasn't precisely "part" of the laboratory team. Fortunately, one of her friends lent the key to the place so they could check on the three temporary residents of the cells room. Since Apollo and his father were still on the run, Trucy had to hide somewhere, and the laboratory might be a good place to stay hidden for a while until they could capture her brother.

Trucy and Athena sighed of relief when they noticed the cells weren't those creepy and rusted barred cells like we'd see in the detention center. Instead, they looked more like those sci-fi cells made of shining, unbreakable glasses, wide enough to contain at least six or seven tightened adults together. That was good, they thought: that'd give a resident inside the glass enough space to stretch themselves.

From afar, Trucy could see two familiar sightings wandering in the room, outside the cells, and she enthusiastically called them, waving her hands. "Mom! Machi!" Trucy yelled with a smile, trying to get their attention, which she succeeded.

Thalassa and Machi shifted their thoughts on the girl while she ran toward them, with Athena and Ema following behind. The mother gasped from the surprise to see her daughter here all much happier and more considerate than ever. She nearly let a happy tear stream across her cheeks. "Trucy-dear!" the mother called back, welcoming the girl in her arms. It had been only two days since their significant meeting, but they both felt like they never drifted apart.

Formal as ever, Ema interrupted their hugs, clearing her throat to make her presence more noticeable. With the time spent around the detective, everyone was already used to her grumpy personality. "Good day, Mrs. Gramarye and Mr. Tobaye," Ema started, resolutely holding her notebook and her signature pen. "I'm here to check on you two. Have you been following your treatments with the medications as you were told?"

Thankfully, the two vampires didn't mind the grouchy side of Ema. For some reason, they both found it rather amusing. "Yes, we've taken them every twenty-four hours," Thalassa told her.

"Good!" Ema's tone went a little more than enthusiast. "Are you both feeling well?"

Both Thalassa and Machi looked at each other in agreement and nodded to the detective. "Yes, we're feeling good," Thalassa responded, smiling. "And we are not hungry either."

"Good, good!" Ema nearly cried of joy, almost competing with the two boys' chords of steel while noting everything in her notebook. "Can you go under the sunlight?"

Machi was especially happy to answer this question before Thalassa could even respond. "Yes! Sun don't burn skin! Is good! Can no stay long, but still can!" Well, it seemed having avoiding the sun for more than half a century gave the old boy a rather pleasant glee when he could look at it once again, a first time since so long.

Ema's grin was so wide it scared both Athena and Trucy. "Great! Awesome!" the detective exclaimed in a victory pose. "So far, the meds work on all vampires! We only had three test subjects, but at least the result is one hundred percent positive!"

Unfortunately for Ema, Athena ruined her celebration by finding a contradiction to her results. "Hey Ema," Athena called the detective, hesitant to continue but she had to. "You forgot about a certain young space man into this lot of fun…"

It was like the detective's dreams were crushed by few simple words. She dropped her arms in defeat. "Ah yeah, I forgot about that astronaut kid," Ema blurted out like she was about to cry. "Where is he, exactly?"

"Oh, he's in a nearby glass cell," Thalassa revealed, feeling a little gloomy when speaking of the young man who was, after all, her son's best friend. She pointed toward a particular direction. "The poor boy, he's sleeping all alone in a corner."

"All right, let's check on him, shall we?" Ema suggested everyone, though Trucy didn't appear to be much eager to see her brother's buddy as one of the night spawns.

It didn't take long for everyone to reach the cell where the fallen one was still slumbering like a little child, all peaceful at the bottom. The scientists were kind enough to give him few pillows for a more comfortable sleep. Since they couldn't contain him, to administer the medications, they had to use a special gun that shot darts on the boy. Thankfully, each cells had few holes to let anyone inside breathe or anyone outside shoot their target. The darts were mixed with sedatives and the medications so they could relax his instincts and give him the treatment. It was their first time testing the meds on a more dangerous subject, so no one knew exactly what type of results will come out of this.

"When was the last time the meds were administered on Clay?" Ema asked the two vampires.

"I gave him the shot at around 7AM today," Thalassa told her. "He didn't look very happy about it."

"I see," Ema said. "Guess we'll leave him here for a while again."

Right after, a sudden buzz could be heard in one of Athena's pockets. She took out her phone and read the message she had just received. It was from Mr. Wright, and from the way she smiled at the message, it appeared to be good news.

"Hey guys!" Athena exclaimed. "The boss's finally out of the detention center! Mr. Terran's death was deemed to be suicide as per the conducting investigations. Now the boss's waiting for us with Simon outside the edifice! Let's go meet him, all right?"

Everyone cheered on the news. In fact, Phoenix had stayed in the Terran's home and he called the police after Simon brought Clay to the laboratory. They had to arrest him for questioning and he had been staying in the detention center ever since until now. Everyone was eager to see him back again, except for one particular girl.

"You guys go ahead!" Trucy cheered on them with a fake grin stuck on her face. "I'll stay here with Clay in case he wakes up, so he won't be alone! Give Mr. Wright my congratulations!"

Seeing the sadness in her daughter, Thalassa slowly shook her head. "Let me stay with you, my child," the mother begged.

"No, it's okay Mom!" Trucy insisted. "You should go outside and see the sun again! Don't you miss it?"

Thalassa smiled on her daughter's words and she gave her another warm hug. "All right, Trucy, thank you," the mother let know as she gently released her from her arms.

* * *

It had only been thirty minutes since the group had gone outside but it felt like an eternity.

Trucy was sitting beside the glass cell where Clay was still sleeping. Carefully peering on the young man, Trucy imagined how peaceful he looked no one would have guess that he had become a malicious vampire. In a silly, cheesy way, she tried softly speaking to him like words could somehow wake him up. She wanted to ask him tons of questions about what exactly happened to him and to her brother and what led Mr. Terran, his father, to commit suicide upon seeing his son back.

Aside, looking at Clay reminded her so much of her Polly. How she missed him much!

If only she hadn't thrown away her phone, she could be checking on the Internet in the meanwhile to pass time, but alas, her cute phone was no more.

She grew so bored of stalking her poor friend in the cell that whenever she saw a sudden twitch on Clay, she jumped. She tried to find something else to do but she didn't want to take any risk of using anything that looked abnormal in this laboratory. If anything, any unknown substance found in this place might be able to kill her on the spot if she was in physical contact with the stuff, so she better be careful.

Thankfully, her patience paid up when the young astronaut started blinking few times in a sort of confused state. While Trucy was glad to see him finally awake, she was still scared of seeing his eventual reaction when he'll realize he was all alone in his cell, with only one other person to accompany him from outside.

"Clay?" Trucy timidly called the young man.

The vampire boy jolted at the name and looked around his environs. It took him few instants before his clear views came back to him when he noticed the little girl outside his glass prison. Trucy watched him and smiled at him, hoping he'd smile back.

Unfortunately, she got no reaction from him.

"Clay!?" Trucy repeated, a bit on the anxious side, putting her palms on the glass cell. "It's me, Trucy! You remember me, don't you?"

However, the reply she got from her friend was a sudden garish roar as he ferociously tried to reach for her. Trucy backed away with a loud yelp, falling on her back. She panicked, struggling to not faint from seeing her former friend falling so low in his animalistic move. Yet, strangely, the more she looked at him, the more scared he appeared, just like… he felt trapped. Well, in a way, he was really trapped inside the cell.

"G-Get m-me out of here!" Clay dreadfully cried out, his tone trembling of fear.

Pitying on the vampire, Trucy slowly approached him and proceeded to put her hand again on the glass cell, trying to reach out for him with a half-smile. Clay still panicked but watching the girl before him who appeared so quiet and serene somehow appeased his mind. Slowly, the young man took a wise breath and sat down on his pillows, awkwardly avoiding the stare Trucy was giving him.

"Clay, why don't you look at me?" the girl calmly asked, her smile now fading away.

Clay nearly ignored her comments and he simply glared at his own hands, trying to move them all around, bending them, stretching them. Finally, he went for his nose and his throat, massaging them in an odd manner. Seeing the weird acting of the former astronaut, Trucy gave a curious eye on him, raising an eyebrow.

"I can't smell anything…" the young man revealed, gasping at his own comment.

The smile gradually came back to Trucy. "…It works!" she quietly exclaimed.

Her friend finally gathered all his attention on the girl, and this time, there were no panic or anger in his eyes. "Trucy, tell me, how's that possible?" the man asked as he steadily put his own palms to where Trucy put hers. Her own heart melted when he finally called by her name.

"Metis's researches," Trucy informed, nearly crying of joy to see Clay somewhat back to his old self. "We used the medications on you, and… it works! Please tell me, Clay! When you look at me, do you feel… hungry?"

Listening to the girl, thoughtful, Clay decided to keep his stare on her for a while. He was trying to stay focused, even to go as far as furrowing his brows intensely to see if he saw the need to hunt for her blood. To his joy, no such hunger came to him.

"No, I'm still not… hungry," Clay said, curling his lips up. "And I'm fine too. I can feel it… My instincts won't control me anymore."

At the very same moment, few warm tears flowed across her face, her eyes shining with hope. "I'm… so happy…" she squealed softly. "For you… and for Polly! Welcome back Clay! Now, I know we can get him back!"

"A… pollo…" Clay murmured to himself, regretfully. "He's still out there somewhere, isn't it?"

Trucy sank her head, ready to shed more tears for her dear brother. "Yeah, and… he wants me to join him…"

"Yeah, no wonder," Clay shamefully admitted. "I guess it's part of… the instincts of vampires, wanting their loved ones to join them in their new lives. Even I went for my… dear father, but… b-but…"

A pause was made between the two as both clumsily fiddled with their fingers, wondering what they should say next about the whole ordeal. "I'm sorry for what happened to your dad," Trucy coyly broke the silence.

A long, tired sigh came out from Clay's mouth along a small tear from his sight, but he managed a smile even so. He couldn't put the girl in another sadder state. "Let's leave my father on the side for now, Trucy," the young man conceded, trying to sound decisive and a little cheerier. "Right now, we should focus on your brother. Apollo's out there with his father, and they're probably preparing for another strike when we expect it the less."

"Poor Polly," Trucy gloomily commented. "He finally met his father, but that guy's using him like a pawn."

Trucy's remark caused Clay to unexpectedly frown at her. "Eros… is truly be a disgusting being beyond irrationality," the former astronaut started, pensive. "But I can say he loves Apollo for real. That's why he's doing everything to please him, and that's by trying to get you on their sides too, because Apollo actually misses you."

"B-But, Clay, we have Metis's meds!" Trucy objected with frustration. "If we can give them to Polly, and heck, even his father, then we'll be able to all live together in peace!"

If Clay wasn't stuck inside his cell, he would have patted the girl's hair to appease her. "I wish it was that easy," he told her. "You know, Trucy, I admit, when I… was changing, I thought I'd be able to control myself, to keep my mind away from the metamorphosis, but… the change we undergo after being bitten is not only focused on physical change. Unfortunately, the transformation affects… our soul and instincts too. In the end, the hunger for blood wins, and we are nothing more than… inhuman predators."

"Even after our hunger is quenched, we still crave… for more, and we see humans like nothing more than lowly preys. Our hunger is so strong it makes us forget about many things, like our old dreams, our goals. In this case, we totally forgot about Metis's meds because it doesn't matter to us anymore. When the hunger controls us, we even forget about people; for instance…"

"… K-Klavier…"

A frozen chill crossed Trucy's body when she heard the name, initiating her to back away from her friend. No, Clay couldn't have… Trucy's sudden move caused Clay to sadden. "You really… murdered Klavier…" she muttered, her shocked eyes wide open.

"I'm sorry, Trucy," Clay expressed, feeling utterly miserable about himself. "I… don't want to explain what Eros did to us, but Apollo and I couldn't control ourselves anymore at the time. I know it's no excuse, but… when the hunger kicks in, the survival instincts become stronger than our humanity and the pity for our victims literally disappears… Klavier paid for this…"

"No… Poor Klavier…" Trucy moaned before she finally took the courage to stare back at the young man behind the cell. "No, I can't blame you for this!" she determinedly spurted out. "It's not your fault! It's because of that Eros guy! He made you do it! That's why we need Polly back!"

Resignedly, Clay sighed again. "Even if we are able to bring them back in our lives, nothing will guarantee their darkness will go away. I have high hopes for Apollo, but I can't say for Eros. That guy will still have control over his son, and he might stay a bad guy even if he'd take the meds. Basically, he'll just be like a human who might still wish to do evil things, using his vampire powers and strength. Anyhow, that guy has a grudge against life ever since he had been reborn."

Another silence reigned over the room. Trucy was still devastated since she was being reminded about the truth behind Klavier's death and she was unable to mutter another word. Clay was still sorry about what he had done, even if it wasn't technically his own fault, but he still did the deed with his friend.

Suddenly, the young man straightened up, looking up to the ceiling, a resolute expression appearing on his face. Trucy watched him, and slowly, she tried to stand up as straight as the man, pondering what went through his mind right now. "Trucy," Clay started, now smiling. "I cannot go back to being a human. Apollo can't either, and I can't bring… Klavier and my father back to life. However, I can still help you bring your brother back with us all sane, just like the Polly you grew up with and loved, and I'll do everything to make it happen."

"I'll also protect you from his instincts, I promise."

From the far entrance of the room, a spying Ema listened to everything, noting all the necessary notes about her subject's emotions. Her happy grin, giving her the look of a mad scientist, expressed how much her scientist friends' efforts and hers were fruitful. "Guess it's another 100% positive results for Metis's meds!" she loudly whispered to herself.

"Hey!" Clay hollered from his cell using his chords of steel, not even turning to Ema. "I still can hear you over there!"

This somehow killed the mood.

* * *

Date: December 25th 2027, 9:16 PM  
Place: ?

No! How did this happen!? He had been running since forever, and his heartbeat couldn't hold it anymore. Yet, he knew he had to keep running, for his own life, for his own future! He had a good future ahead, right? He was only a young teen at the peak of the troubling ages, but wait, he didn't really mean real trouble, didn't he?

No, he had simply pushed a homeless kid out of his way because he was begging for money. How was that trouble? How could that stray boy contribute to the society? While the street kid was probably going to become a hopeless man doing nothing in his life but begging for life and money, smoking and drinking, himself was going to become a prosperous man in his parents' business! Why did he wander outside at night anyway? It was supposed to be his Christmas night! He was to get the gift he wished this year, but he ended up with something else completely. Madly, he left for outside while his family wasn't looking… and there he was, running for his life!

Dashing through these dark alleys, all he wanted was to find a light, a miracle that will save him. All he did was to shove that homeless kid! He didn't deserve to be pursued by one of those creatures of the night that was craving for his pure, innocent blood!

"P-Please!" the teen boy cried, tears flying behind him as he kept running, but he could felt himself out of breath soon. "D-D-Don't eat me! I… I swear I'll be a-a good person from now o-on! I won't push kids around! I won't bully people at school anymore! P-Please!"

Of course, the vampire behind won't listen to him. All the creature wanted was to feast on such "perfect" young flesh. After all, the younger they were, the tastier they felt.

The last step the kid made was to trip on a small empty food can. The boy roughly landed on the solid and dirty concrete, causing part of his clothes to tear apart and his skin to rip from his flesh. This not only gave him a painful and bloodied landing, but the wonderful smell of blood that emanated from his wounds rendered the dark spawn so blissfully content the beast let out a wide, terrifying grin. The boy cried, rising his head in a hopeless attempt to flee. Only he was being fiercely pinned back to the ground by a hand, with the other hand holding the teen's back so he couldn't struggle anymore.

"No, p-please have m-mercy on m-me… I beg o-of y-y-you!" the boy pleaded once again, but to no avail.

The last thing he heard was a loud bestial growl before the intense pain of the blood flowing out from his neck wound hurt every parts of his soul, soon bathing in a pool of his own blood.

With his hunger now appeased and almost satiated, the vampire wiped out the remaining blood on his own face, delectably licking his lips and fingers to get all of this delightful flesh for himself. He will enjoy this dinner until the end and no one will prevent him from continuing his feast.

However, few steps were heard behind him and he quickly turned around. The relief took him when the one he found was his old man. "E-Eros," the vampire called while his father approached him with a dead bloodied kid in his hands. In the end, he had sunk his teeth into the victimized homeless kid the other teen boy bullied.

"You did well, Apollo," Eros told his son with a gentle smile before the other one returned to his feast. "It took you a while to get that human, but you managed to be rash on it."

Nearly in trance, Apollo lifted his head up, murmuring to himself. "Human blood's so delicious…"

Eros chuckled at the comment. "You gotta be careful of what you say, Pollo," Eros revealed. "Not all humans are delicious. Usually, the younger, the better, but it's uncommon to see kids outside at night on these days. We were lucky today."

Suddenly, Apollo felt a knot somewhere inside him, making him slightly wince of pain, an emotional pain. When he looked again on the kid Eros was devouring, a sense of faint shame struck on him. "You know," Apollo began, turning his sight on the lifeless body of his meal, not so hungry anymore. "I went for this boy because he bullied another kid…"

Once again, Apollo's comment caused the father to give away a cold smile. "Ah, I guess your surname suits you better than it suits me!" Eros laughed, but his humorous side soon became an infuriated resentment. "But, you know, it doesn't matter who you chase or what was the life of your preys. Humans are all the same; they are killing our planet little by little, and animals are dying everywhere."

His father's observation slightly caused Apollo to raise his eyebrows. Was Eros some kind of environmentalist activist or a member of an animals' rights group in his past life? He had a spark in his memories about some vague quarreling between his mother and his father over humans destroying the planet, and of course, Eros was siding with that fact. He decided to not question this since this will probably bring more disputes between the two, and the last thing Apollo wished was an angry parent for obvious reasons.

When their meals were finished, at last, they went for the nearby park, leaving the corpses in the river and, in turn, they took a bath in the water to rid of the remaining blood on them. The water was cold, but they didn't seem to mind much.

Once they finished, they put their spare clothes they stole and quickly returned in the city downtown for a tranquil walk under the night sky. Together, they surveyed the tall buildings above their heads, listening to the strangely comforting traffic sound and clubbing music playing all around. Apollo had never really wandered outside at night around these parts of the city, and he didn't really feel at home, unlike Eros who appeared to enjoy this nighttime. "No one here knows we're vampires," Eros explained to Apollo. "Humans are too dumb to follow the implemented curfews to avoid falling under the fangs of vampires. They still want to have their own nightlives too, offering themselves to us. How convenient!"

Soon enough, they stumbled upon a slutty middle aged woman, leaning against the wall, watching the two young men with a smoking cigarette stuck between her lips. She smiled at them, mumbling few seductive words which went deaf to both men. "By the way, don't ever try to eat these types of women," Eros declared, giving a cold glare at the woman. "Some of them are full of weird illnesses and they taste awful because of the drugs messing their insides."

It was fortunate the woman, upon hearing the young man's remark, didn't take the comment literally as she should have. However, Apollo wanted to hide his face, ashamed how Eros was speaking of the woman so loudly without any disgrace. He was still glad the prostitute wasn't angry at them or anything. Maybe she was so used to these critiques. Weirdly, now that he tried to smell her scent, he felt like throwing up all the blood he had just savored earlier.

It was so odd, yet pleasant, to be able to experience the taste of humans by their scents alone.

* * *

Date: January 01st 2028, 10:03 PM  
Place: ?

The morning had sure been coming fast on that memorable Christmas night, but Eros had never been so pleased with his life ever since he had been reborn. He got to enjoy long hours with his dear family, and it was the best Christmas gift he could ever ask for. Apollo was back in his life, and even if he had already abandoned the idea of returning to live with his betraying wife, he still didn't hate the idea of having another one in his family. As expected, Apollo still had thoughts of having his little sister come back to him. The more, the merrier!

It'd been more than a week since their butchered attempt to get Trucy to their side, and on this New Year, Apollo appeared to be gloomier as the days went by. Not too pleased to see his son in such depressing condition, Eros finally decided to have a serious talk with him.

"What's the matter, son?" Eros worriedly asked.

Apollo didn't appear too keen to reply since Eros was rewarded by a silence from the son who still had his eyes staring sadly to the ground. "Apollo, you can tell me everything," he gently added. "I'm your father, after all!"

Nearly ignoring his old man, Apollo simply crouched on the ground, his head resting on his knees, thoughtful of his old life. While he enjoyed these new inhumane strengths and taste for blood, he had never been so bored in his life. He missed the action he enjoyed before he had met his father.

Klavier, Athena, Mr. Wright, Clay, Trucy… How he wanted to see them again.

"Apollo?" Eros called again, making the son jolt out from his nostalgia.

With a regretful expression on his face, Apollo turned to the other one, his eyes squinting from the exhaustion. "E…ros…" Apollo started slowly and unhappily, and somehow the name he gave his old man shocked him. "I'm sorry, I still can't see you as my father… I mean, I never grew up with you, a-and you look… like a boy…"

The expression on Eros didn't look too pleased, and this froze Apollo's veins. He wished he had never told his father the truth about how he thought of him, because he could see the frantic fury behind Eros's almost innocent face. "S-Such insolence!" the father childishly growled out, piercingly gazing into his son's eyes.

Suddenly, it happened again, like a nightmare coming back to him.

Apollo lost his will to move on his own, to think of his own. He felt as if few invisible cords were guiding all of his limbs, his thoughts and his willpower; Eros was controlling him once again. Soon, the father's serene smile came back to him, though he still had his strict frown.

"Look at me. Now…" Eros bluntly ordered his son, and Apollo obeyed.

No words came from the lifeless shell while he kept staring at his father like a ghost. The frown on Eros's brows lightened up, showing the expression of the caring parent he wished he was. "Tell me, son," Eros began, this time with a softer tone. "Who am I?"

A ghostly voice came out from Apollo. "D-Daddy," was all he said. Eros could see the struggle from the lips of his son like he was trying to fight against the control, but he was gratified with the answer he was given.

This prompted Eros to give Apollo a good friendly pat on the back. "Good boy!" the father exclaimed, all satisfied with the results. To thank the son, he widely opened his arms, welcoming the boy to him. "Come on, little Pollo, give a big hug to your Daddy!"

Still out of his own control, Apollo went to hold his father in his arms into a cold, yet warm hug that would last for a dozen of seconds. Happiness returning to his mood, Eros gently started stroking his child's soft hair. "There, there," he tenderly hummed. "You've been a good boy, so yes, let's go back to see your friends and your sister Trucy the next night, shall we? I'm pretty sure that was what you were thinking, am I right?"

To this, Apollo simply nodded.

* * *

_**Author's note:** Before people think about it, no, I'm not an environmentalist activist or a member of an animals' rights group._


	23. Daddy

_I admit, I had chills when writing the last part of the previous chapter. _

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 22: Daddy**

Date: January 2nd 2028, 8:03 AM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Living Room

It was about time Thalassa and Machi got their leave from their laboratory stay. The two vampires never felt so alive to not be forced to have a constant hunt for animals just to keep their sanity. They couldn't thank Ema and her friends enough for continuing such revolutionary researches. Because the results were all positive so far, Ema had decided to talk about the project revival to the Cosmos Space Center director, the one who had learned about it years earlier from Metis Cykes herself. Director Yuri Cosmos was pleased to see the project alive again and fully agreed to let the higher ups know about it.

Of course, they hadn't mentioned anything about a certain Clay Terran in this part of the entire experimentation. Director Cosmos might not be quite ready for this, yet.

If this worked well, maybe the government will plan something out from these researches, mainly to make a safer world for humans and even vampires.

While Ema and friends took care of all the complex things, Trucy was well settled back at home, cheerier as ever with all the positive results from the medications experimentations, knowing her brother could finally come back in her life. Of course, she had invited both her mother and her little savior Machi to visit the place. Machi's jaw dropped wide from the amazement of the place. Such a clean, wide home! Thalassa smiled when she watched the little boy gasping from the wonderful apartment. The condo where her children lived appeared pretty neat and tidy, though much smaller than their old manor back many years ago.

Thalassa was eager to hear about the history of her children while she had been gone, and Trucy could see the obvious curiosity sparkling in her mother's eyes. In fact, her mother was heart warmly gazing at a small number of pictures of her heirs' younger selves scattered around the place. She mildly smiled. It felt like gathering back all the lost years she couldn't have watched them grow up.

"Trucy, please, tell me everything you remember since… your father and I were gone," Thalassa shyly requested, practically too embarrassed to ask. She was afraid of her daughter's answer to her demand, but Trucy didn't appear too bothered by it. Her face was even beaming with glee at the request.

"No problem, Mom!" Trucy exclaimed, all ready to tell her everything.

Thalassa and Machi were carefully sitting on the couch, ready to listen to a long story. Trucy prepared herself with a deep breath.

"Well, I don't remember much details after you disappeared since Polly was the one to take care of all the complicated stuff, so most of what I know was from himself. When Uncle Valant, Daddy and you were gone, we lost our home because of some evil notary attorney who falsified the papers to get our family legacy."

The mother gulped at the reveal. "Wait, what happened? Why did our notary do that?" the woman dimly growled, frowning at the story.

When an uncomfortable tension appeared on the vampire mother, Trucy meagerly glared at her with a gulp, but she managed a reply. "Well… I guess he just wanted to steal our stuff, since you were rich and famous..."

An abrupt wild snarl came out from the woman's mouth and Trucy backed away with a jump. The teen was genuinely scared of her mother for once; never had she heard a bestial sound coming from her. When Thalassa realized her move, she stupidly covered her lips. "I'm sorry, my dear!" she cried out to her daughter, horrified. "I didn't want to scare you!"

Unexpectedly, Trucy started laughing from her mother's embarrassing moment. "It's okay, Mom! I'll just… get used to it!" the magician girl stupidly exclaimed and this caused Thalassa to give away a shy, mortified smile.

Trucy went on with her story. "After the notary stole our legacy and the manor, the police found a foster home for us, but people were evil there, so Polly and I fled the place. We were attacked by vampires outside, and that was when a man saved us and kept us in this home!"

Excitedly, Trucy went to grab a random picture on one of the furniture, showing it to the two guests. Curiously, the two vampires checked the photograph. "He's the man who saved us!" the girl cheered on, pointing at the frame.

Suddenly, Thalassa went speechless.

Seeing the obvious tension from her mother, Trucy raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What's the matter?" the girl asked.

Carefully again, Thalassa glanced at the blond man on the picture. Somehow, she appeared to have seen him… once… but she couldn't exactly get her hands on who.

Wait, she remembered.

"… Ga… vin…" the mother muttered to Machi and the boy nodded to her, though the teen girl couldn't hear her.

Trucy crossed her arms, wondering what exactly went inside the mind of the two. "Hey! Care to tell me what's going between you two?" the girl protested.

The mother closed her eyes, softly crossing her fingers like she was praying for the man. "Kristoph Gavin," Thalassa repeated louder this time, and Trucy's jaw plummeted at the name.

"Mom, you knew Mr. Gavin!?" the daughter questioned, still in her astonishment state.

Thalassa let out a long and nostalgic sigh before she answered. "Kristoph, he had been reborn about a week or two before I was. Machi found him after he was attacked by vampires and he taught him to keep his humanity. Kristoph was the first one to find me, and that was how I met Machi, thanks to the man."

"We got to know each other for a while before we parted ways. He spoke to me about how he was a prosperous lawyer, but of course, he couldn't continue his life career because of his new condition. I spoke to him of my old life, my family, my children, and I admit I also told him about our family gift." Her last words caused her to gently touch the bracelet which she still proudly wore. "I'm not surprised Kristoph found you two and decided to take you both under his wings. He was such a nice man."

Sadly, Trucy dropped her head, fiddling with her fingers in a childish way, thinking about her old rescuer. Thalassa could clearly see Trucy wasn't too keen on speaking about him, but she still wanted to know. "Where's Kristoph right now? I need to give him my thanks for his noble rescue!"

That was when her bracelet reacted to her daughter. Whenever Kristoph's name came in, the tension came along. However, the recent question caused the bracelet to go wild around her wrist to the point it hurt her.

"Mr. Gavin had been… executed…" Trucy simply answered, her eyes still glaring emptily on the floor. "It was during Polly's first trial too. Mr. Gavin was proven to be the victim's murderer and we found about his vampire condition at the same time."

The girl was doing her best to hold her sobs and her tears. Seeing the distress in her daughter, Thalassa smoothly wrapped her arms around her. This act drove the little girl to explode in her sadness, nearly tossing her mother away from her. Thalassa slightly backed away. "Mr. Gavin didn't deserve this!" Trucy screamed out as her tears went flying around her. "He was so kind and all with us! He taught us everything! He gave us everything!"

"I-I remember his last w-words," the girl continued, nearly choking with her words. "Before he was executed, he t-told us he was just an evil being who like using people around him for his own greed, including u-us, because P-Polly and I have that power. Polly could easily tell which ones were v-vampires or n-not with his power and bracelet… And h-he also told that he would have changed Polly and I if we had discovered his s-secret before… But I don't believe him!"

"I'm sure he went all evil at the end so we don't pity his death!"

Tears were beginning to soak the mother's robe when she welcomed her daughter deeper in her chest. She gently stroked Trucy's soft hair to ease her mind.

So Kristoph might have not completely been a heartless angel, after all. Maybe he took in the two kids because they really were her dear children…

* * *

Thalassa was astonished by all the feats her two children had accomplished while she was away from their lives. If anything, she envied the chance Kristoph had to see them growing up and becoming outstanding people. Her daughter managed to inherit of her magician talent for becoming a prosperous illusionist who could nearly compete with her legendary grandfather's hands. Her son made his way to become a very successful lawyer and a very skilled hunter, saving countless lives by simply defending innocents from false accusations and from the monsters of the night.

In a way, it was her fault for leaving them to their fate. She could have tried to live among humans the same way Kristoph did and managed to do so for long. She could even have attempted to convince Valant to keep an eye on them and even on herself. Yet, she was afraid, afraid of her own instincts and immortality. Machi told her she was thinking too deep into this, but she couldn't bear to stay the eternal one when her children would eventually grow into old people while she'd keep her youth for eternity. Never had she realized her children would have done everything to see her again, even as a reborn one.

But she was too frightened that her instincts will tell her to bring them with her in this sad everlasting destiny. Now it was happening to her son. If only… she had stayed with them, maybe she could have protected him from her now… psychotic husband.

However, her grief over Apollo's fate slowly changed into hope when she saw the young man who called himself her son's best friend near the entrance door, grinning and full of resolve. Upon seeing him, Trucy went to jump on him, holding him tightly by his neck. "Clay!" Trucy called, her face overjoyed to see her friend back. It appeared he also received his permission to leave from the laboratory.

"Hey, Trucy!" Clay laughed along, releasing the girl from his arms before he kindly turned to the mother and the little boy. "Hello, Mrs. Gramarye! Hello, Mr. Tobaye!"

"You didn't have any problem when coming back here?" Trucy asked, still smiling. "I mean, with the sun and all…"

To this, Clay made few discreet scratch moves on his face. His cheeks were still a bit redder than they should be, but he didn't seem to mind. "Actually, my skin burned a bit, but it's not much. I still had to put lot of sunscreen, but at least I can go outside without too much bother, just like before!"

The happy grin on his face disclosed pretty much everything Trucy needed to know, and she grinned with him to show her gratification for the moment.

The cheerier moment was somehow killed when another guest entered from the door entrance. Phoenix came in the apartment, sending a hand to everyone present in the living room. "Trucy," the mentor called with a serious frown on his expression. "You can't stay here, you know? Apollo's going to come back for you here since your home will be the first place he'll check, naturally."

However, the comment gave a smile on the young teen girl. "Well, that's awesome!" Trucy squealed. "That way, we'll capture him more easily and we'll give him the meds!"

Somehow, Phoenix chuckled on the simplicity of Trucy's remark over the situation. "There're truths in your words," the man admitted. "However, we cannot risk the lives of people in this crowded city. Your brother and his father's presence in the area will bring more victims if they keep searching for you around here."

"Mr. Wright is… right," Clay added, stroking his chin, though there was a weak snicker on the pun he had just involuntarily used. "He told me of a plan to get your brother somewhere safe, and that will be when you guys are going to need me!"

"A plan? What kind of plan?" Trucy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Phoenix took a long breath. This was going to be a long explanation.

* * *

Date: ?  
Place: ?

Today was the big day.

He was nervously sitting alone on the couch in this bland white room. Wait, he was not really alone, but a young girl was unconscious on the bed beside him, being on the effect of few sedatives to keep her down. The round form of her belly looked like it was about to explode like she had been impregnated by a terrifying alien, with her brood ready to shred her guts apart anytime from the inside.

He realized he was the one who impregnated the girl he loved.

A silly, young mistake. How many times did he hear the saying that it always happened to others? Except it happened to her, and him. And neither she nor he were ready for this.

An unexpected shriek escaped from the girl in front of him. It was so loud he felt his eardrum vibrating like a maddening guitar string that echoed for awful lasting seconds. He panicked and tried to call for help. Soon enough, many ladies in blue rushed in the bland room, nearly shoving the young man away to his displeasure. He tried to reach for the girl, but this wall of ladies wouldn't let him in.

That was until he heard another tiny innocent scream.

In the hands of the ladies, a bloodied crying ball appeared out from the sweet girl's garden door.

At the sight of the loud small infant, his heartbeat fastened with warm joy. How weird, something was off: he had not felt any heart pulse in a while, but it didn't matter anyway.

The newborn was _their_ son.

Everything went so fast, and in the end, when all the ladies in blue disappeared from the room, only he, the girl he loved and the baby remained in the room. The little boy finally managed to sleep after having his thirst satiated with enough milk from the new mother, and it was time for the young man to hold the child in his arms.

He was definitely not ready for this, but as soon as he felt the soft, warm skin of the small boy, his heart nearly melted with supreme bliss.

Today, he became a father.

"So, Daddy darling?" the girl laughed, and despite still having few pain here and there, she managed to lighten the mood. "How will you name him?"

The new father shed a small tear as he listened to his son's mother. "We both have weird names," he gently mocked. "We should give him a name that goes with ours."

"How about Apollo Justice?"

…

Inside this small cave hidden from human's reach, in the mountain outside the city, the cold, winter breeze hit his cheeks like soft music to his ears. Eros slowly woke up from a pleasant dream, disappointed his slumber didn't last longer than he wished. He shook his head then slipped his hands through his messy hair, leaving out a wide yawn. To check on his own condition, just in case, he put a hand where used to sleep his heart.

There was no heartbeat.

His dream appeared so real to him. He felt like experiencing his sweet past once again, living a happy life with his wife Thalassa and watching their baby son Apollo growing up to be a strong toddler, already able to crawl on his two feet at the tender age of ten months.

Wait, his baby son…

"Apollo!" Eros shout out when he realized Apollo was nowhere to be seen.

In a desperate attempt, the vampire father began to sniff all his surroundings trying to land on his son's scent, and he managed to pick a trace of it. He quickly followed the scent, reaching the entrance of the cave, straight under the cold dark night of this New Year. From the aspect of it, Apollo obviously ran away from him while he had stayed deep into his slumber.

What a delinquent, disrespectful son!

However, Eros had never been so grateful that Apollo's moves were so predictable. But of course, the traces of his scent went directly to the city, and the only thing he'll have to do was to follow the smell.

Or maybe there was no need for the scent, because he knew exactly where Apollo was going.

To get his sister back, to his own residence.

* * *

Date: January 2nd 2028, 9:38 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Entrance

Apollo could smell her very well. He'd recognized his sister's scent from all the other numerous scents that were sticking around in his home.

He was quite dissatisfied to realize that she had left home since at least few hours. If only he'd be able to wander freely during daytime, things would have been so much easier. Furiously, a livid growl escaped his mouth. Using his fists, he brutally hit a table, causing a vase sitting on it to smash on the floor, splashing the contained water all around in a loud crashing noise. He wouldn't mind if the striding sound lured few humans from nearby apartments. At least he'd get to regal on them if they decided to come out.

As he tried finding any hints of Trucy's whereabouts, he stumbled upon so many familiar things that suddenly rendered him sentimental to the point his anger faded away like a fading flame. The memories, they were coming back to him when he glanced at all the pictures of his old… pleasant life.

From here, he saw a smiling Mr. Gavin and his trusted golden retriever, the redoubtable but friendly Vongole, posing on their pictures without knowing the fate that awaited them. More photographs of them stood a bit everywhere, and Mr. Gavin always remained the same, not ever changing in physical form. In others, curiously, another familiar sighting was seen, looking just like a younger version of Mr. Gavin himself.

Klavier…

… He decided to avoid every pictures of the rock star.

On more pictures, he'd sometimes find his best friend Clay, usually standing with himself. They were like the two best buddies in the world, beaming of life, of their future as both went to reach for their now forgotten dreams together.

And, finally, he could see her again: Trucy, always smiling on every pictures. She would usually hold her big brother's hands strongly like holding their hands will protect them from every dangers that could possibly shattered their family.

…

How silly, Apollo had planned to pursue the scent of Trucy until the end, but… why were these memories so painful to be reminded of? And why, oh why, was he unable to avoid them? They were literally surrounding him, begging him to glare at every of them, to remind himself of his good old life.

Standing in a lonely corner on a desk, a laptop was left open in the office room, still plugged to the wall. Apollo chuckled to himself when he was reminded by another typical, yet enjoyable memory, one about telling his sister to never make a habit to leave a laptop plugged all the time. It literally killed the battery faster than it should, apparently.

Except she would never listen to him about it, of course.

He sat before the computer device, using the touch screen to navigate in the operating system. He found out an Internet browser visibly reduced on the system's desktop toolbar. He maximized it and he was welcomed by his own social media page. A serene smile appeared on his lips; someone in this house must have been lurking around his Internet wall.

Probably Trucy herself.

Few seconds became few minutes, and nearly half an hour later, he was still reading and checking his old posts, his old photos of his old life. Smiles and happiness were definitely everywhere on these pictures, even in those silly reposts and shared stories. His concentration in his browsing session became so intense he had totally forgotten about his initial reason for coming back to his home.

How he missed everyone: his friends, his partners, his family…

He wanted them back in his life.

Suddenly, a new approaching scent hit his nostrils which he immediately recognized as… that young man's scent. He nearly cursed to himself how quickly he was able to find him, but he had to remember that he shared the same enhanced senses as him, after all. Following scents was as easy as breathing for any vampire, and that included his own father.

When Apollo turned to the new guest, his back froze of panic. With the frown that was plastered on his face and the resolute crossing arms, Eros didn't look pleased at all. "Pollo," the father strictly called, leaving a low growl with it. "You've been a bad boy, running away from me like that."

Already accepting the idea of being controlled by his irrational old man once again, Apollo readied himself to lose his willpower by closing his eyes. However, when he reopened them, he found himself being able to easily exhale and inhale just like a normal person. He was really glad he could still control himself. Eros's expression shifted to a more compassionate one, to his relief. "I'm fortunate to have a son like you," the young father uttered; the way he told his words sounded like he was slightly mocking Apollo. "You're so predictable I didn't even need to use my smelling sense to find you."

In a way, Apollo was fed up with his old man. However, when he looked into his eyes a little longer, then turning back to the pictures he was staring at, a sudden pity took over the mind of the former lawyer.

Deep in his most far away memories, he found that old picture of his family again, the one in the desktop background of his mother's old laptop. He still remembered the joyful smiles that were eternally stuck on the four people of that photo under that bright summer day. Yes, there were his mother, Uncle Valant, Uncle Zak, and… his father, Eros. How the little Gramarye troupe appeared to be so blissful together.

If the vampire incident had never happened to Eros, then… just maybe, he could have been the father he should have been: a loving and caring father.

And when Apollo glanced back at the pictures of his sister, his friends and all the other ones he had come to appreciate in his old human life, he profoundly missed them all.

"I am… beginning to understand how you feel," Apollo managed to whisper to the other man, quietly dropping his head in an empathic manner.

Eros raised an eyebrow. It might be the first time Apollo had spoken to him with a more sympathetic tone and this caused a slight tension on him. Of course, in a funny way, Apollo felt it. "W-What do you mean?" Eros timidly asked, nearly biting his lips in the process.

Apollo unhurriedly lifted his head and eyes above, directing them to the ceiling. "The way you feel about the entire thing… You were alone for all these twenty-three years, weren't you?"

For once, Eros was the one who embarrassed himself with the discussion they were having. In a friendly manner, Apollo could nearly see his human self into his father at the very instant. His old man simply scratched his head. It took him a while to answer a shy "Yeah."

The son gave a concerned laugh. "You know," the former lawyer continued. "It has not even been a month since I became… this… but it seemed like twenty-three long years that I haven't seen my dear sister, and I miss her…"

Still unsure what to respond, Eros let a long sigh escape. "The eternal life isn't so fun when you're alone. Is that what you think, Pollo?"

Apollo gave a short nod to his father, then a gentle smile. "Is that why you granted me this immortality?" the son replied, answering his father's question.

However, Eros couldn't reply to this.

"So, you were alone in this immortality, you had no one to help you, and… my mother left you to die… But now, you found me back, all grown up, and you were happy to see me. All I did was… to reject you because I had never seen you… Or rather I couldn't remember you."

"And now, Trucy's avoiding me… My little sister, my family…"

When the pity rushed once again inside Apollo's mind, he approached his father and went to give him a long hug. Eros's high tension gradually faded away when he sensed the warm arms wrapped around him. He finally let himself do the same to his son.

"Apollo…" Eros gently called his name; now it was his turn to give a real smile. "Thank you…"

The son gave a familiar pat on Eros's back. "No problem, D-Daddy."

… Finally…

He was now his Daddy, at last.

For the last twenty-three years, Eros had never been so happy. It was like he was melting in the simple family moment he had always dreamed of living.

Small tears shined in his eyes.

When Apollo finally let his father go from his arms, a dark smirk appeared on Eros. "My son, we'll get Trucy, no matter what. You really deserve the family reunion, and I'll be more than glad to welcome her as your little sister and my little daughter."

Apollo kindly smiled with his Daddy.

* * *

_**Author's note**__: Yeah, I know Apollo's change of mind about Eros was a little quick, but I gave up trying to comprehend or explain the mind of a newly reborn vampire. I guess living with him for more than a week might have softened their relation. I dunno. :c_

_Also, yeah right, "Sweet Girl's Garden Door". I was actually thinking about the awesome song "Belle" from the "Notre-Dame de Paris" musical (French version, of course). You guys go check it out on Youtube._


	24. The Plan

_We'll add some more familiar characters as guests in this story. This chapter's my longest so far, for good reasons._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Chapter 23: The Plan**

Date: January 3rd 2028, 10:28 AM  
Place: Kurain Village

The first thing that surprised Phoenix when he made his first step in the village was how cold but pure the air felt to his nostrils. It smelled so clean it hurt the nerves deep in his nasal cavity. It was about time he got out from the more polluted surrounding of the city.

To his amusement, what amazed his three other companions was the lack of any male presence in this old Asian styled village aside from themselves. Many curious eyes were turned to the four guests since they pretty much stood out from all the other old fashioned girls and women, particularly that young man with dark sunglasses who was covered on every parts of his body. Wait, how did they know he was a man, anyway?

Trucy and Athena watched around them with wonderment. While Trucy had been used to the old Nine Tails Vale, thanks to her friend Jinxie, the culture shock couldn't compare to this Kurain village Mr. Wright spoke of so much before. The place was so remote from the "civilization" it still couldn't get any cellphone reception, and that meant no wireless Internet either. At least they had the good, old line phone that might be even older than Mr. Wright himself. Athena had always lived within technological environments, so she appeared to be the most disoriented one.

Every villagers of this town kept their distance from the strangers, looking formal while they all gave a fake, welcoming smile at them. Yet, a particular young woman in a long traditional robe suddenly came rushing at them, her arms all up like a crazy, happy little girl. This nearly scared the two female guests as they backed away from the villager's trajectory. When Trucy and Athena looked up to their boss, Phoenix smiled at the woman.

"Niiiick!" the not-so-formal black haired villager loudly called out in an eccentric, enthusiast tone before she went to give the man a long unexpected hug.

The two girls became perplexed at the name. Since when Mr. Wright's name was Nick? "Oh, hey, Maya!" Phoenix called back with the woman still in his arms, giving her few amicable pats behind. "It's been a while."

"It's been a while, indeed! I've missed you!" the young woman, Maya, cried out when she landed back on her feet to the ground. "You never come to visit us anymore! You're always too busy!"

Soon enough, another young brown-haired girl with two adorable hair rings behind her head came out from the hiding. The two girls' smiles widened when they realized who she was. "Pearls!" both Trucy and Athena called at the same time.

More formal than the older woman, the girl, Pearl, wisely bowed to all of them, but she appeared to be as excited as Maya according to her discreet joyful smirk across her lips.

"It's good to see you again, Nick! And you too, Athena and Trucy!" Pearl cheerfully welcomed.

Of course, Pearl had met the girls and Apollo during a case last summer and they met several times again after, albeit rarely. Nevertheless, Pearl was still full of glee whenever she met other people from outside her sheltered village, though she was unable to recognize the other one fully clothed from top hair to the tip of his feet.

Phoenix shifted his concern back on the three younger ones who were accompanying him in this little fun. "Maya, I believe you haven't met my little kids," Phoenix mocked with a grin.

"Hey! We're not your kids!" Athena instinctively protested. However, Trucy didn't find the expression of being Mr. Wright's kids that bad. She even let a smug escape from her face when she heard the comment.

"Anyway," Phoenix continued, kindly ignoring Athena's comment. "Maya, meet my employees, Athena Cykes and Trucy Enigmar. Also, mee-"

"And what about the other guy?" Maya quickly interrupted the man.

"Oh, that one?" Phoenix grinned. "He's the one I told to you about during our phone call last time. Meet Clay Terran." Then he turned back to Maya and Pearl. "I believe you all already know Pearl Fey, so meet Maya Fey, the current master of the village."

Master? Maya didn't look like a master at all, they all thought.

In return, the fully clothed young man muffled few greeting words while waving at the two villager women. Enthusiastically, Maya came to shake Clay's hidden hand, to his own embarrassment. If she could have seen behind the scarf that hid his whole face, she would have noticed his blush on his cheeks. "Clay!" Maya shouted out, really not shy at all. "You should take off some of your clothes, you know? It's cold outside, but not THAT cold!"

In reality, Clay was sweating like mad, and everything felt hot under these clothes. However, it appeared he was slightly more sensitive to the sun rays than any other vampires under the meds. Upon hearing Maya's comment, he rushed under one of those canopy roofs and took off his sunglasses, scarf and beanie, revealing his complete visage to the two villager girls. The master dropped her jaw upon seeing the real face of the young man. Athena could actually sense Maya's heartbeat going faster and she snickered.

"_Goodness, that guy's so cute! Why did Nick hide that guy from us for so long?_" Maya thought to herself, but of course, she'd never tell that out loud, for her own sake and the sake of her cousin Pearl. Being the master of this village, she was required to show the example to the younger ones!

"Be careful, Maya," Phoenix chuckled at his old friend. "Remember what I told you? Clay is… a vampire."

"Way to kill the mood, Nick!" Maya sulked on her old partner's words, shaking her fist with slight annoyance until she felt someone clutching to her robe from behind, sensing a trembling body. When she turned around, Pearl was hiding behind, suddenly terrified of the young man standing under the canopy. Her fright caused another awkward moment for Clay, making him wince with discomfiture, scratching the back of his head.

Of course, Maya had known this from the very beginning. She realized she forgot to tell Pearl and everyone else in the village about that particular detail: a vampire, fortunately a kind one thanks to some medications, was coming along Nick and his two female employees. She knew about the plan her old lawyer friend had conceived so they could safely capture a certain vampire. The reason for coming in this village was to seek a place to hide that young Trucy girl. It was an important plan, after all, since the vampire they wanted to catch was the dearest family of the magician girl.

Both Maya and Pearl understood how it was to lose the last of their loving family.

"You know, by bringing little Trucy here, you're risking the lives of everyone here," the master of the village humorously started when she turned back to Phoenix.

Phoenix frowned at the thought, but soon, his confident smile came back to him. "You remember the plan I told you, don't you, Maya?" the man asked.

Maya laughed. "Of course, I do! That's why you guys are welcome here as long as you wish!"

* * *

Trucy had been watching Clay leaving the village in a way to put Mr. Wright's plan in action, but still, there was something that would never slip out of her mind. Was the plan going to work? She herself wasn't so sure.

She was sitting alone in one of the rooms she had been given which she shared with Athena. The older girl had been with her since like forever, and she was so grateful to have such a good friend to help her chin up despite her sometimes unpleasant mood in these past weeks. The village itself felt so warm to her heart, with a kind master, gentle and formal members and awesome food (at least to her). Not to mention how the village was so gorgeous itself. She heard it was quite a touristic attraction thanks to some old exhibition about the village culture years ago, and Mr. Wright was even involved in a case related to that exhibition.

Mystic Maya, as the villagers called her, had told them about her history with Mr. Wright before everyone got to meet him. Maya's older sister was actually a lawyer AND the mentor for Mr. Wright! Unfortunately, she had been killed by the man she was pursuing and Maya was arrested for it. At the time, Mr. Wright was still a rookie attorney, but he still managed to save her from a guilty verdict. Since then, Maya became his assistant during his cases and investigations, and Pearl came along after few cases too, until that fatidic case that caused his disbarment from the law.

Because of the way Mystic Maya called her boss, she wanted to call Mr. Wright "Nicky" now.

Wait, that sounded too silly, even for her.

She had taken a small frame with her from home in which a more recent picture of her, Apollo and Clay stayed inside, the three smiling at life even after the recent execution of Mr. Gavin. She even remembered the moment the photograph was taken. A random audience member was the one who took the picture after one of her magic shows at the Wonder Bar.

Trucy had high hopes to see Apollo back in her life, to bring him his well-deserved humanity. Yet, by glancing back at the picture she held close to her, all she could be reminded of were those dark, frightening eyes and expression Apollo displayed when he was about to catch her. Those eyes were the glare of nothing than a simple predatory nightmare led by his insane hunger for flesh.

The magician caught a subtle tear before it fell on the frame. How she missed Apollo! He had never been gone from her life for so long, and she still didn't know if he was still alive or if he disappeared somewhere because his cursed father demanded it.

She knew one part of Mr. Wright's plan to capture her brother was that she remained hidden in Kurain village. However, she seemed unable to contain herself by staying here, knowing her brother was probably still pursuing her. And somehow, even the joke Mystic Maya had told earlier was still struck in her mind.

_You know, by bringing little Trucy here, you're risking the lives of everyone here._

In a way, the master was right. Apollo was coming for her, and probably his irrational father too. And as long as she remained in this village, there was still a possibility the two young men will come here and cause a little genocide.

She won't allow this.

It was already the evening, and Athena, tired as ever, was already fast asleep on her small bed. Trucy took the opportunity to write a quick and short letter, and then she grabbed her coat. She unnoticeably stole the key of a village snowmobile, nearly crying of joy that it was snowing in the village so she could drive on the white ground. While she was unsure how to drive the thing, she managed to turn it on at least. After few seconds, she was able to control the machine.

In a way, she cursed the fact that her mother and Machi didn't come with her. It would have been much easier to travel if they were with her. Or maybe not. Her mother wouldn't allow her to do what she was doing right now. Driving a snowmobile was a little difficult, but she'll succeed.

She drove straight to where Clay had gone.

To the Eagle Mountain.

* * *

Date: January 3rd 2028, 10:52 PM  
Place: Eagle Mountain, Dusky Bridge

It was snowing, hard.

But Apollo remembered learning from the people living in the north that whenever there was a snowstorm, the temperature nearly always went up by few degrees, and he was quite glad to wear a light spring coat. Before departing from his home, he gave one of his to his father too.

It was fortunate for them to find a hint about Trucy's whereabouts because neither Mr. Wright nor Trucy were too keen with technologies. In fact, thanks to those tracking systems found in most of phone devices, Trucy's social media page over the Internet revealed that she was hiding in the Eagle mountain area, a recluse natural world which attracted many tourists. Incidentally, it was also home to a lucrative temple where mediums paid to train themselves to power up their channeling techniques. How weird, since when there were lucrative activities for mediums to pay? Usually, the mass was paying them for their channeling services!

Wherever there were human beings wandering around, there were preys, mediums or not. Unfortunately, upon expecting the temple over there, there was not a single soul.

Yet, on this seemingly old-looking narrow and frozen suspended bridge, he could smell her faint scent going through the only thing that link this side of the cliff and the other side, to another peculiar temple. That was where Trucy was hiding, he could sense it.

"Don't you find it odd?" Eros began, squinting at the snow gently hitting his face and smiling at the surrounding, contemplating the horizon of this stunning mountain chain. "Your sister's on the other side of this bridge, and from the look of it, there's no other way out than this fragile bridge itself."

"Unless you want a quick death at the feet of these cliffs."

Baffled, Apollo turned to his father. "Dad, Truce would never want such things."

Even if it only started yesterday, Eros already found it natural for Apollo to call him by that paternal title, but a chill froze his spine every time he heard it. His dreams had come true, at last, and it was time for Apollo to get his too.

Enough of these happy emotions, he had a son to help!

"I'll guard this bridge; you go to the other side," Eros told him.

However, the only response the father got was a gulp from his son. Apollo slowly approached the bridge, making few careful steps before he even managed to put a foot on the thing. When he looked down upon the border, he immediately backed away, awkwardly falling on his rear like a young toddler trying to walk for the first time. There was no way he'd be able to cross that bridge, ever! How deep was the cliff anyway? The river and the rocky grounds below didn't really look appealing from above. Eros laughed at his son's childish act. "You're… still afraid of heights, aren't you, Pollo?"

Few panicked breaths came out from the poor boy who attempted to leave the pressure out from his anxiety. Yet, he winced at his father mockery. "We're only about forty or fifty feet above, you know?" Eros added to tease his son's fear. "That's about five or six floors; it's not that much."

Apollo clearly wanted to object. "B-But that's enough to kill anyone!"

"Maybe. That's why you're gonna be careful, will you?" the father simply responded with a grin.

And careful he was going to be! Sluggishly, trying to not grit his teeth, Apollo made the first step on the suspended bridge. Suddenly, the wind felt stronger and so was the balancing of the bridge. A short, awful yelp escaped from his mouth before he tried to firmly shut his lips to the point of nearly piercing them with his cutting fangs. He soon realized the wind wasn't stronger: it was only a part of his imagination. He was only absolutely frightened by the mix of wind and height!

The relief coming back to him, the second step went a little smoother, then the third was better; soon, he finally reached the other side. He went to kiss the ground, though for a second it looked like he was fainting on the snow. But he couldn't let himself flat on the ground forever. He had a sister to find and change!

Trucy's scent was getting stronger when he approached the temple entrance. Upon opening the door of the temple, which was mysteriously unlocked, a hallway led him straight into a weird, delicate old room. He seemed like if he touched anything that acted like a border for the room (like the wall), everything will crumble above him. This gave him few shivers.

The smell appeared to come from the eerie and cold cavern at the end of the room, which had an odd barred but unlocked metal door that acted like an entrance. He could see a weak light deep inside the cavern which looked like some kind of light from a god or some superior entity from above, ready to welcome a prophet or a chosen one. Like a shattered dream, the light source obviously came from the sky itself when few holes were found in the ceilings, with the icy walls reflecting the lights from outside.

As soon as he entered the cavern, something made him stop in his tracks for a second: another familiar smell. Curiously, it did not come from a human, but rather, another vampire. He would recognize the scent everywhere.

Clay.

It felt so strange, being able to recognize the smell of someone he hadn't seen for more than a week like every scents he had smelled will be kept forever in his memory. However, he wondered why Clay would be in this very place of all other places. He thought he had been captured by Mr. Wright and maybe he even killed him, but… he wasn't so sure what to think anymore. Right now, he needed to focus on Trucy. She was what mattered, and nothing else.

Her scent was now closer and he could smell her presence just around the corner of this labyrinth of ice. As soon as he overtook the corner, he blindly bounced on her, ready to leave no time for her to flee and struggle.

As he rushed through her exposed flesh, an ecstasy took over the older brother when he sank his teeth into her. Nothing will stop him from welcoming her in their rebirth, not even her cries, not even her fights against him.

Finally, Trucy will be his.

His dear little sister. The family will be complete, once again.

…

There was no blood on his lips.

Wait a minute. Where was she? All he found around his arms were mere… pieces of clothes and tattered pillows which seemed to have been impregnated by Trucy's scent. Hundreds of feathers from the pillows flew in a disdainful manner around him, causing Apollo to suddenly roar with a bestial fury.

He had fallen in a set up trap!

Apollo hastily rushed to the exit of the cavern, only to find the barred door with a sturdy bolt locking him from the inside with no way out. Fearfully, he started charging few times at the door, mindlessly trying to break the bolt, but to no good. He gripped onto the thing that retained him but it kept dropping from his shaking hands. Obviously, he had no key to it; he was really trapped.

He would have cried for help if he hadn't seen the one who stood in front of him.

"C-Clay!"

What was Clay doing here? Why was he equipped with few hunting weapons on himself? It couldn't be! He couldn't have been the one who put that lock on the door! He couldn't have been the one who put Trucy's clothes in this cavern! No, that was impossible!

But from the frown his friend expressed, he realized Clay was not on his side anymore.

"I'm sorry, Apollo," Clay began to speak, a bit shameful of his act, holding a small gun in his hand. "But don't fret, please. I'm doing this for your own good."

How could this be? What happened to Clay? He was not the same one he remembered. It was like… he had sided back with the humans. Why would he do this? The rage within Apollo gradually raised up as he let out a low growl at his friend.

"My own good?" Apollo furiously spitted out. "You locked me in! How's that for my own good?"

Clay didn't answer. The next question came out instinctively.

"What did you do to Trucy?" Apollo finally asked with wrath.

Not daring to look at his friend anymore, Clay managed a small compassionate smile. "She's safe with Mr. Wright in Kurain village."

So that was it. They took her away from him, again. If this wasn't betrayal, Apollo didn't know the right word for this. Uncontrollably, he let a fury out of himself. Firmly holding the bars that maintained him behind, he gave an intense and manic glare at his _former_ best friend. "Y-You betrayed me," Apollo growled. "I can't believe you… I thought we were best friends since our old lives, and even after our… r-rebirth."

Finally, Clay was able to look back at Apollo. The former astronaut's eyes were full of peace and pity toward his friend. He gave him another shy smile. "Even in this state, after succumbing to your instincts, you still love Trucy, and… she still loves you, Apollo."

Hearing words of his sister caused a wild snarl escaping from Apollo's chords, with his sharp teeth revealing themselves as they gritted against each other. The poor boy was shivering with anger, his head still down but his eyes raised high, giving more menacing scowls on his captor.

Clay wasn't going to lose himself to his friend's anger. "She wants you back in her life, Apollo! She wants her big brother _Polly_ back!"

That was when the small gun Clay had in his hand finally directed itself to Apollo's direction. There was nothing Apollo could do, so he admitted defeat by leaving a purely horrified silence at the weapon. "So, b-buddy," Clay called Apollo with a quivering tone. "That's why…"

_That's why… what, Clay Terran?_

Apollo's eyes widened when he discovered who was standing behind Clay. The young raven-haired vampire turned his head to see exactly who had spoken these words. He froze at the sight that awaited him.

At the entrance of this room stood a menacing Eros, a pure hatred glare shooting at him with a knife in his hand. Behind the cutting side of the blade stood a weakened and panicked little girl held under the grip of the frightening father.

Everyone was speechless, but Apollo was the first to break the spooky peace.

"Dad and… Trucy?" Apollo murmured.

* * *

Date: January 3rd 2028, 10:36 PM  
Place: Kurain Village, Meditation room

"Shouldn't you sleep by now?" Phoenix humorously remarked to the master as he walked out from the main meditation room. After a botched attempt at relaxing in a meditating session with the young woman, he still didn't feel as relaxed as he should.

"No way, Nick!" Maya retorted with a mocking tone. "I mean, it's so exceptional to get friendly visits in these days! With you here, there's finally gonna be action! Usually, the outsiders coming here only wish to get channeling services! It's SO boring!"

"Shouldn't you be happy about this, Maya? It brings money to your village after all."

"Of course I'm happy! But we hardly get any new friends! It's always business, business and business! And bad food! I miss those city burgers and Eldoon's noodles! Next time you come here, get me few takeout orders from over there!"

Phoenix couldn't help but laugh at his old friend. It had been a while since he had a good laugh, and he was always happy to check on his former assistants. He still sensed a knot in his heart from the fact he came solely here after months of absence to put his plan in action, not even coming in the village to visit his friends. It wasn't like he didn't have any free time; his thoughts simply kept wandering around, never thinking of getting out for a surprise visit here.

The plan he had intended to bring his student and his father back was quite simple. All they had to do was to hide Trucy in this village. They'd use her clothes impregnated with her scents as a decoy to lure Apollo and his old man to the Eagle Mountain area which was about an hour away from the village, and even a shorter time with a snowmobile. Clay'd be waiting for both vampires over there and he'd shoot them with the sedatives. Since the only way to get out of the special temple on that mountain was that… scary high bridge, the two vampires will be stuck there. Clay will have much easier time preventing any of them to flee from him.

Another thing was to use Athena's phone as a GPS device that will be put along Trucy's clothes, using an Internet page to make sure Apollo could see where exactly Trucy was "hidden" on her social media page. The laptop in her home was left plugged and opened with Apollo's social wall on the Internet browser so they'd see a notification on his main page with the saying "_Trucy Enigmar is on Eagle Mountain!_"

He was so glad both Athena and Clay were able to use these complicated features on the phone since Trucy and himself would never manage to do such things. Whenever there was a technical computer or cellphone complication, Trucy always went to either Apollo or Clay for help, but she was more leaned toward Clay since he was a space engineer, after all! Which engineers couldn't use a smartphone?

When Clay will succeed putting both vampires to sleep, he'll give Phoenix a call to come and get them with a snowmobile. They'll put them in the laboratory care, saving both of them, hypothetically, and everyone will be happy… hopefully…

In a way, he was left uncomfortable that Clay will be the one to do the whole dirty job, but hunting for two vampires under this snowstorm condition was almost suicide for a simple human like him. Aside, Clay was more than eager to participate (much to Phoenix's joy).

If only Mrs. Gramarye and little Machi would have agreed to accompany them… But both would rather stay in the city to find more vampires as new subjects for Metis's meds. Anyhow, perhaps Mrs. Gramarye would be unable to properly concentrate on chasing after her son. Whenever she thought of him going all instinctive like a wild beast along her old husband who will surely be taking advantage by controlling their child, she'd collapse before the scene. If only she had been emotionally stronger…

He reminded himself, he better checked on Trucy. She was supposed to sleep in the same room as Athena in the Winding Way, and the room was only steps away from the Meditation room. Maya agreed to accompany him to the room, but they were immediately stopped by Athena who slowly came to them, still in her pajamas despite the cold and the storm. Phoenix had already given up trying to understand what could be going in the mind of his younger protégée for getting out during a snowstorm under these light night clothes.

"Huh, boss," Athena drowsily moaned with a yawn. "Have you seen Trucy? When I woke up, she wasn't in the room anymore."

Phoenix peered at everyone for an answer, mainly Maya, but the master would simply stare back at him, clueless as ever. "Nope, I haven't seen her anywhere either," Maya replied. "Maybe she went to the bathroom?"

"Well, that's a possibility," the man chuckled until he noticed a piece of paper hanging on Athena's pajama side. "Hey, Athena, what's the paper on you?"

The junior lawyer turned her eyes on the paper she wasn't even aware of holding. With another yawn, she grabbed the piece and started reading it.

She froze, now wide awake.

"Oh no…" Athena whispered to herself, then she raised her chords as she spoke. "Trucy… She's gone!"

"W-What?" both Phoenix and Maya exclaimed with their mouth wide open, and Phoenix quickly snatched the paper to read it.

"_Everyone,_

_I'm scared that staying here will bring my brother and his evil father here, and I don't want anyone to die for my sake._

_That's why I'll be going to check on Clay and Polly at Eagle Mountain. I know no one else is over there, so it's going to be all right. No one will die if I go there._

_I have faith in my big brother. He won't bite me. He'll listen to me if I meet him before Clay does._

_I promise to come back with everyone safe and sound._

_Trucy"_

"N-No…" Phoenix muttered, his fists shaking of fear. He didn't want to see Trucy's gone too. With the year and half spent with the two kids, she and Apollo were virtually like his own family. He won't be able to bear the loss of someone else. With her gone, his entire plan will be go awry!

No one even had the time to react properly to Trucy's letter when they heard a shout from behind. When all turned to the crying voice, they could see a breathless Pearl while she rushed toward the little group, alarmed over something.

"Guys!" Pearl anxiously shouted out. "Someone stole one of our snowmobiles!"

While Maya and Athena nervously gasped at Pearl's reveal, Phoenix retained his composure despite his obvious panic. He knew exactly who stole it.

"Pearls!" the man fretfully called, grabbing the teen medium by the shoulders. "Do you have another snowmobile?"

The little girl raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes, why? Do you need one?" she asked, perplexed.

"L-Let me drive one!" Phoenix blurted out without losing any time. "I know where the thief went with the other snowmobile!"

"But Nick, you don't even have a driving license!" Maya worriedly protested.

Phoenix gulped on Maya's words, but he had to get going, for Trucy's sake and everyone else's safety. He had planned to drive one to get the vampires back anyway, driving license or not.

When he managed to start the snowmobile engine and comfortably control the vehicle, he immediately rushed to Eagle Mountain.

* * *

Date: January 3rd 2028, 11:16 PM  
Place: Eagle Mountain, Inner Temple

"Dad and… Trucy?"

Unable to think of a straight solution, Clay stood there in front of his imprisoned friend, motionless. His petrified stare glared on the twisted father holding the young girl very tightly by the collar, nearly choking her. Her cheeks were turning into a crimson shade and the blade close to her neck was ready to attack her flesh at any time, depending on Clay's take of action.

"Trucy?!" Clay managed to mumble even by the disbelief of her presence. "What are you doing here!?"

The girl could only let out few short squeals as an answer, struggling against the collar tightening around her throat. "P-Polly…" Trucy barely succeeded to voice out.

Her calling suddenly calmed her brother's mind. "T-Truce…" Apollo softly called back, his expression shifting to what appeared like worry.

Eros's eyes turned into pure evil as he felt the struggle from his stepdaughter in his hands. "So, this is Trucy Enigmar, daughter of Shadi Enigmar and Thalassa Gramarye," Eros revealed, too proudly emphasizing on Trucy's father's name. "She's… beautiful, an angel, just like her mother."

"Eros!" Clay yelled after the heinous vampire, leaving out a growl along.

However, what came out from Eros was a simple sarcastic laugh. "Clay," the young man began, his malicious grin wider than usual when he directed his attention on the weapon held by the former astronaut. "What kind of gun are you holding? Are you planning to kill your best friend?"

Hesitantly, Clay wasn't sure which answer to give. It was always no use to argue with Eros since he was always instantaneous with his actions, not even minding the consequences of his acts even when they'd go against his advantages. Yet, maybe he'd slow down this time because the one he was holding as hostage was his own son's sister, and there was no way Eros will try to deceive Apollo.

"You shoot my little Pollo, I injure your little Trucy," Eros coldly whispered, bringing the blade closer to Trucy's neck, now touching her bare skin.

Upon noticing the weapon drifting closer to his poor friend's throat, a frantic snarl escaped from Clay. Eros wouldn't do that, he wished! However, he could clearly see the tiny trace of blood from Trucy's neck because of the deliberate sliding move Eros was making with the weapon. The now wounded girl was giving a faint grimace of pain. "D-Don't you dare!" Clay desperately cried out, shuddering.

"If you want to keep her alive, I only have one request," Eros calmly proposed, but Clay already knew the request he'll suggest. "Just free Pollo, and I'll let her go. Simple as that."

Another worried growl came out from Clay's mouth. He still didn't know how to get out of this mess and save Trucy in the process. If only she hadn't come to this mountain, everything might have gone smoothly. However, now that he put more thoughts into it, perhaps not. He had planned for Eros to go in the temple as well, but seeing he was nowhere close to Apollo when Clay confronted his friend, Eros might have, theoretically, escaped from him.

Or maybe the reason Eros had strayed away was because he smelled Trucy's real presence elsewhere when Apollo entered the temple… Clay nearly cursed at Trucy for her presence, but whatever the reason for deciding to come here, she probably thought it was for the best: he couldn't blame her for that.

Clay entered in deep concerns for about a minute and he was surprised how patient both Eros and especially Apollo appeared to be in the situation. After all, it was his friend's very dear sister who was suffering under his father's hands! But when he observed Trucy crying from both physical and emotional pain…

…he couldn't bear to see her in this state anymore.

With a loud grunt, Clay quickly shot the lock with another pistol and the piece of broken metal fell on the floor with a long clank that echoed through the cavern. To Clay's relief, as promised, Eros released Trucy from his grip and he even went as far as telling her to flee if she wished to. Still, the wide smirk across Eros's lips went purely sarcastic as he watched her rushing for the exit. Obviously, this showed he intentionally wanted this.

A shock took over Clay when Apollo rapidly took off from his now broken prison door and made a sudden dash toward his sister, leaving a predatory roar. Clay made his way to catch his friend, but Eros immediately bounced on the former astronaut's back, strongly pressing his head and his two wrists against the ground. This caused Clay's struggles to be painful and almost impossible.

It didn't take long before Apollo finally caught on his little sister. The leap he managed pinned her hard to the ground. It was so easy to restraint Trucy since her body was of much smaller stature than his, so he simply crouched over her.

Strangely, Apollo did his best to not injure her, but he held her tightly enough so she couldn't move much. It still hurt her nevertheless, unbeknownst to him.

Tears were flowing across Trucy's sides, but she still achieved a smile on her fallen brother.

"Sniff… Polly…" Trucy sobbed when she finally stared straight into Apollo's eyes.

Her piercing eyes, once again, soothed his instincts. He was unable to mutter another word or even act. It was virtually… hypnotizing. He went so speechless and motionless Trucy could almost free herself, but she needed to speak with her most cherished family at all cost, even if she had to let her own life go.

"You… want me to… j-join you, don't you?" her voice was oddly calm and serene when asking him the question.

But while Apollo remained silent, a sudden pressure came from his left wrist. Trucy was completely tense and he winced at the intense pain from his bracelet. He could clearly see her scared twitch on her gentle face when her lips barely trembled when she mentioned "_join you_"…

Was… Trucy finally accepting to join him?

"You know, this is gonna hurt a lot if you bite me," Trucy expressed, still with her smile. "It'll make me cry a lot. It's like… being painfully beaten by my own big brother."

… No… was his bracelet… lying to him?

A sudden state of confusion took over Apollo as he clutched his head between his hands, shaking left and right aimlessly like he didn't want to hear what Trucy had to say anymore. Everything she uttered felt so reassuring and yet, so unbearable. "N-No… No…" he kept repeating over and over, unable to contain his mind when her soft voice continuously ringed into his sensitive ears.

"The Polly I know would never do such thing!" she finally cried out loud, unexpectedly lifting her head up, tears flying around her. "The Polly I love would never hurt his little sister!"

Apollo's hands dreadfully went through his hair, leaving out many frantic and deep breaths, trying to ignore his sister's words, but they wouldn't go away. "… D… Don't say such things, Truce!" Apollo muttered out loudly, his teeth gnashing with humiliation. "I-I'm your big b-brother! I was always here to protect you!"

"And now you're not anymore!" Trucy dejectedly screamed at her brother. "You want to hurt me! You're even breaking the promise you made me!"

It was like a lightning bolt hit his entire body, causing him to freeze in terror with a sudden memory coming back to him like a tender nightmare...

Yes, he finally remembered the promise he made to his sister over a silly nightmare. It was supposed to be a meaningless promise, not to be taken seriously. Yet, right now, it was a dead serious one.

_I dreamed that Mr. Gavin and Clay were vampires and they tried to eat me. You tried to protect me, but they bit you and then… then… they made you a vampire too! And then you wanted me to be a vampire too!_

_Hey, Truce, Clay won't be a vampire, Mr. Gavin won't be a vampire, and I won't be a vampire! And I can assure you, and I promise, that I'll never let you become a vampire._

_You… promise?_

_I promise._

…

He remembered every single words of the promise he made in that very unimportant day. It was the final move from his beloved sister that will seal his fate to make his toughest decision ever since he had been reborn into… this.

Apollo slowly stood back on his feet, freeing Trucy from his grip. He leisurely dropped his head on the side, unable to look at his sister again, completely crushed by the shame. What had he done to become that senseless monster? When did he become such an animal? Trucy definitely deserved better than this pathetic existence of a brother!

"Then go…" Apollo simply told her, still not looking at her direction.

The surprise hit the little sister. "… Polly?" she hesitantly called for her brother's attention, nearly scared of his next reply.

The brother's tone was now stricter, but still tender. "I said… go, get away from m-me now, before I change my mind…!"

Sadly, Trucy's emotions were too crushed for her to even make an attempt to move away from him. Even just now, even without the use of their family's most precious jewels, she could see the tensed sad tears that were barely starting to appear on Apollo's sight as soon as he mentioned "_me_". She was the only one who knew of her brother's nervous tic, something even he wasn't aware of. Unable to hold her own tears at her cherished big brother's tension, she couldn't get her eyes away from him anymore. She loved him too much and she didn't want to part ways from him, ever again.

But a devil was there behind Apollo, his eyes directly glaring onto her beloved sibling. A frown appeared on his lips.

"Apollo," the cold, fatherly voice spoke out. "Are you… letting her go? After all we've done to get her back? And there I thought giving you the honor to make your dear little sister part of us would please you…"

A faint empty sound left Apollo's lips when the wicked father finished his words.

"Y… Yes… Daddy… You're r… right…"

Upon watching him making that hollow call, Trucy was suddenly terrified of her brother. He was not acting himself anymore. That was when she heard the plea from the nearly forgotten Clay, still struggling against his captor.

"TRUCY! Get out of here fast, NOW!" Clay agitatedly screamed out. "Eros's controlling him! Apollo's trying to fight against the control, but he can't hold much longer!"

And fast she was. Trucy couldn't bear to watch her brother when he was losing the control over his father, and swift like the wind, she made haste outside the temple, not even turning her back. She was crying more tears as she ran away, leaving her brother behind in his fate.

There was nothing she could have done to help him anyway.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long before Apollo's will completely disappeared, and when it happened, the possessed brother went straight to Trucy's direction as she ran for her life.

Using Eros's sudden inattention since he was trying to order his son's every moves, Clay finally managed to free himself from the father's clutch in a ferocious manner, throwing him on the fragile wooden furniture in the room that shattered in a loud clash. Steadily on his feet, Clay rushed outside to save the girl.

In total disapproval of Clay's move, Eros instantly followed them. Nothing, no one, and certainly not Apollo's best friend, will stop his son from getting his family back.

* * *

Trucy didn't look back.

She could perfectly hear the fast steps behind her and she realized it was her brother, pursuing her so he could get a taste of her flesh. She knew all of her pleas will be deaf to his ears, and the only thought that crossed her mind was that everything might be lost: her own life and Apollo's. When she saw the suspended bridge on her way, the thing being the only link to the outside world, thus to safety, she felt all of her hopes dissipating in the cold air. There was no way she'd be able to flee in time over this iced bridge, especially not with these strong storm winds, but she had no choice. She had to cross it or it was the end.

She decided to close her eyes and she made her first step on the bridge.

She slipped and fell.

Her reflexes achieved a feat she might never be able to redo in her lifetime. She succeeded to quickly grab a rope on the bridge's border.

Balancing back and forth against the wind, she screamed for help, hoping for a miracle to come and save her. Her hands weren't strong enough to hold herself for long, and she could already feel herself slowly releasing the rope from her grips.

Above her stood Apollo, but this time, life seemed to have suddenly come back in his eyes. He watched Trucy with a terrified glance and he didn't lose a single second; he crouched toward her, catching her clutching hand.

"P-Polly, you're back to yourself!" Trucy gasped at him, and she revealed a smile, despite being all scared in this deadly situation.

However, to their misfortune, Apollo was unable to take his sight away from the bottom of the cliffs. He could see the side where his sister was hanging went straight to the rocks below, completely avoiding the fast current river. Suddenly, everything felt so deep and a fainting sensation took over him. No! He wasn't letting his fear of height taking advantage of him! Trucy will fall down to her death if he didn't shake that fear off!

Then it happened. Another strong wind hit the bridge, and this time, it was Apollo's turn to lose his balance. He descended upon the deepness of the cliffs with his sister still clung to his hand. His fast reflexes prompted him catch a bridge rope, but now he had Trucy in one hand and the rope in the other hand. With nothing to latch his feet on, the siblings might be lost forever, together.

With his biggest efforts, Apollo managed to raise Trucy high enough for her to firmly latch her arms around his neck. That way, she had much lower chance to fall down below to her ultimate fate, but everything weighted so heavily for Apollo. He tried to catch another rope with his other hand, but he was unable to do so due to Trucy's weight. If no help was to come, he won't hold much longer.

Their hopes finally came back when Clay reached the scene, breathing tirelessly. Upon seeing his friend nearly giving up with his grasping hand, Clay steadfastly managed to catch Apollo's arm in time before he fell, but he was going to need help.

Yet, they knew it wasn't possible to get further help. The weak bridge was not sturdy enough to hold more than two people at once, and right now, there were already three people on it.

Eros noticed it when he heard the dim cracking noises of the tearing ropes maintaining the fragile bridge in place.

When the father arrived on the scene, his entire body halted itself. He couldn't believe it. If nothing was done, he was going to lose his son. Again. This time, it will be forever.

In this situation of life or death, immortality didn't even matter.

Watching with horror as Clay's struggles were starting to fail, watching as Apollo's hand was slowly falling down with Trucy holding him by the neck, he had a decision to make, but he didn't know which one.

No, nothing came to his mind. Nothing…

"Apollo, Trucy, hold on!" Clay determinately screamed at them, a hand holding a rope, with the other one holding the weight of both. "Please, hold on tight! We can save you both!"

But it was obvious nothing could save them right now. The two last Gramarye children will soon disappear, for eternity.

Clutching against her brother, Trucy surprisingly let another smile out while she placidly stared at Apollo. Seeing his sister do the move, he did the same to her. "P-Polly," she gently whispered to him. "I-I'm afraid of dying, but… at least we'll face the fate together…"

Apollo's hand fell another inch below. Clay was getting distressed over the situation. He had to stay strong for his friends' safety! "Don't say that, Trucy! You'll live, trust me!" Clay cried, trying to get their attention.

But the two siblings weren't listening any longer. "Yeah, it's all right, Truce," Apollo softly murmured back to his sister. "W-We can go through this t-together…"

From the border of the cliff, Eros was listening to their words. He didn't care, he wouldn't even shed a tear.

He just wanted his son back.

"Apollo!" the father yelled. "Let your sister fall! That way, you'll have a chance to survive!"

"D-Dad…?"

Clay was horrified. He clearly saw his best friend's eyes starting to gradually fade into emptiness as the father pronounced his words. How could Eros attempt to control his son at the very situation? That coldblooded bastard! He did not deserve any kind of love anymore, and especially not from his son!

Apollo was starting to feel his self-control fade away once again, but this time, he did everything to struggle against it. No, he won't lose himself to his father! Never again, and specifically not now!

He'll do everything to keep Trucy away from that… heartless devil.

Still, their devotions went fruitless. Both Apollo and Clay's gripping hands were ultimately failing. Keeping Trucy against him…

…Apollo fell down.

The siblings were dashing directly to their definitive fate.

…

That was when the father made his hardest choice.

Without hesitation, Eros made a dashed jump after the siblings.

Thanks to the run-up he took before the bounce, he managed to reach the Gramarye kids in time and when he did…

…he pushed them hard, deviating their trajectory toward the river.

For a split of second, Eros smiled as he fell down. That was definitely the best decision he had ever made since twenty-three long years.

From above, Clay watched the entire thing hopelessly. He witnessed every bones and muscles shattering when Eros brutally landed on the rocks, his blood protruding in a horrific splash on the stone surfaces. He observed Apollo and Trucy diving directly in the powerful and cold running water below them. The sibling disappeared in it, but he never saw them resurface.

Few wretched sobs escaped from Clay.

"Apollo… Trucy…"

* * *

_Apollo Justice._

_I hope you're happy. I saved you and your dear little sister Trucy Enigmar. Even your best friend Clay Terran get to live._

_I'm glad to have met you again after all these lonely years. Even if you probably didn't like these days living with me, reborn into… this creature, at least you gave me enough joy to realize that I need to part ways from you._

_You're a grown up adult now. You even got to grow older than I did. How lucky of you!_

_Even if everyone will remember me as a cruel, wicked demon, I want you to remember, at the very least, that I've always loved you as a caring father, even if I did… horrible things, like all these mindless killings (oh, don't get the wrong idea, they were necessary for my goals!). But I've been even crueler when I took control over your free will more than once. You definitely didn't deserve it since you're obviously a good kid._

_That's my only regret…_

_You can still hate me all you wish, but please, don't waste the lives I've just saved._

_Even with the condition I cursed you with, for eternity, I'm sure you'll manage to live happily among these… humans._

_Yes, that's what I wish for you, for your happiness._

_Make your surrounding happy. Make your mother Thalassa happy. Make your best friend Clay happy. Make your beloved family Trucy happy._

_The name I gave you fits you well. Make a good use of it._

These were Eros Justice's last thoughts before he shut his eyes, thoughts no one but himself will ever get to know. Not that he minded it.

* * *

_**Author's note**__: Eros's last move to save the siblings is probably physically impossible, but if vampires exist in this Alternate Universe, then his move is completely possible in this story, lol. Once again, criticisms are welcomed, especially in this super long chapter!_


	25. Epilogue: The Loving Family

_Dat cheesy ending in the previous chapter. I want to hide under a rock for eternity. Enjoy this cheesier last chapter. Yes, this is the ending already. Kinda._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Epilogue: The Loving Family**

Date: ?  
Place: ?

She gradually opened her eyes, but she wished she hadn't. It was so cold around her. Her cheeks were going against the strong breeze, hitting her like small pieces of piercing broken glasses. It hurt, but she'll manage, she thought. Looking up, the clouds were fading away, revealing the unusual bright moon and even the shining stars above, glittering in their full brilliance. They were giving enough light to make out her dark surroundings with more ease. The sky was so stunning; she had never seen it in its splendor from the city thanks to the light pollution. She felt grateful to be able to observe it in its natural world, far from the civilization.

Yet, despite the freezing weather, the ambiance seemed so warm at the same time. She saw two arms covering her on her sides, and behind her, a taller body protected her from the most savage winds. Above her head, she noticed his gentle face. His whole body was shivering like a newborn.

Her big brother was holding her securely, guarding her from the wild natural world, including the icing air.

Poor Polly…

She remembered everything now: the accident on the bridge, the fall and their dive straight to their death toward the rocks. That was it, until something, or rather someone, pushed them to the river in the mid-air, preventing them from landing on the solid grounds. What happened to the one who pushed them? It couldn't have been Clay, couldn't he? And… what if it was… the other one instead? The father?

Then she had lost consciousness as soon as she and her brother hit the fast current below. She had no idea what happened after since she just woke up about a minute ago.

Trucy was not sure how far they were from the suspended bridge of the Eagle Mountain, but the snow appeared to have melted all around, so they must have been drifting few miles from there at least. They were only few meters away from the river, with a thick, dark forest surrounding them. The sand under them felt wet and soft to the point she thought she'd be sinking further if they moved over it.

The girl wanted to free herself from her brother's arms to explore the place, but with her still wet clothes and the strong winds, she couldn't bear the cold that struck on her. She was just feeling so warm and well between his arms that she leaned deeper into his chest to find more comfort from her beloved family.

All of a sudden, she sensed a small cold drop falling straight on the tip of her nose. Instinctively, she used her fingers to wipe it out, but another drop fell on the same spot. She shuddered at it and hoped it wasn't starting to rain.

However, when she looked back on her fingers, the drops she wiped out were dark with a faint distinctive smell.

Blood.

Suddenly, Trucy feebly freaked out between Apollo's arms, but her brother wasn't moving from his spot. Her heartbeats madly fastened with fear. He couldn't have bitten her during her torpor! No, he promised! Nervously, she started rubbing her neck, but she found no such biting marks or pain. Wait a minute… she felt her _heartbeats_… Phew!

Curiously, she took a more careful look above her head and she noticed a terrifying, disgusting flow of blood that remained around Apollo's lips, drops streaming under his chin. But if he hadn't reached for her flesh, what did he devour?

When an unexpected small black mass with a distinct sound of flapping wings flew close to her head, her nosy sight followed the thing. When the shadow revealed itself to be one of these scary dark birds, it landed just beside a bloodied, full grown wolf lying dead on her far left in the soft sand, with few more crows around taking the opportunity for this easy feast. Trucy released a long relieving sigh. She realized the wolf was probably Apollo's last meal. Perhaps he was going after the animal instead of her so she could be safe from his own predatory instincts with his hunger now satiated.

She smiled when she held her brother's shivering and freezing hands. Yet, her heart grieved from the sight of few visible wounds on Apollo's arms. They probably came from his fight against the strong canine.

"Polly… You kept your promise…" Trucy weakly whispered.

The more she spoke, the more Apollo's body trembled, but he didn't mutter a word.

"I'm glad we're back together," she continued, but her body quivered along. Even if she was being covered by him, she was still freezing from the cold air around.

"M-Me too," Apollo finally let out, his unsteady voice trying to sound relaxing. "I-I've m-missed you, T-Truce…"

In the end, his comforting voice gave the desired intention when Trucy strangely started to giggle to herself. Amazed by his little sister's sudden joy, Apollo looked down on her, and she looked back at him, beaming with life despite her weakened condition.

"You know, this reminds me of that night," Trucy began, unexpectedly hit by a nostalgia. "When we first met Mr. Gavin, when we fled the foster home."

Apollo gently chucked along. "I-I remember too," he revealed. "T-There was a huge r-r-rain, we were both w-wet and we hid in that children p-park."

Trucy nearly cried with her next memory. "And you covered me with your arms so I could stay warm."

"You know, y-you had a good memory for a f-four years old back then…" Apollo teasingly expressed.

The girl lightly hit her brother on the chest with her fist, expressing a pleasing grin at him. "Hey, we've got the awesome Gramarye genes," she voiced in a sarcastic manner.

Despite the cold and the unusual location of their circumstance, both felt like in heaven. The loving family was reunited once again.

* * *

Date: January 4th 2028, 3:01 AM  
Place: Eagle Forest, River

They must be alive somewhere, they must be!

Vampires were made sturdy, and no river, no matter how fast the current was, could kill them!

Clay couldn't use the snowmobile anymore to follow the flow of the river, and he had to run along the border instead with Phoenix running a bit far behind. In fact, the mentor had arrived on the scene just after everyone fell down, watching the scene hopelessly since there was nothing he could have done to prevent this unfortunate accident.

Now the only thing they could do was to find Apollo and Trucy, fast. Phoenix was more confident to find them alive since he had a good run with the same river nearly nine years ago himself. He shuddered at the awful thought. While he managed to get out of the mess with a simple cold, he wasn't so sure if the siblings had the same luck as him.

But they'll live, he was sure of it.

It was in such times Clay wished he still had his enhanced smelling sense to check if the siblings were around, but because of the medications he had taken, he couldn't smell anything at all. If only vampires had another sense to find people by their presence… But hey, that'd make them too broken and magical... At least he was glad he still had his newly acquired piercing eyesight. Not only he was able to see anything despite the darkness, but he was able to distinguish anything from a full mile away in the horizon.

In the end, Phoenix had disappeared behind. Being the simple human he was, he must have been tired of dashing non-stop. Guess that was another advantage of being a vampire, having much better stamina than a normal human…

Clay continued to scrutinize the horizon for humanoid presence, and finally, he found them afar, relieved his lasting running had paid up. Not wishing to make the same mistake he did earlier by being too slow, he didn't lose a single second this time. He readied his special gun.

…

A weak sound made Apollo jolt, though Trucy couldn't hear it. Of course, the sound came from about three to four hundred meters away. There was no way for a human not named Athena Cykes to hear such tiny thing from that far. Apollo slowly turned his head to the sound direction, and upon noticing his move, Trucy did the same. It was hard for her to see in the dark, but there was definitely something running after them. Of course, Apollo recognized the shadow, but all he did was returning back his glance to its original position, completely ignoring the one that was coming for them. This caused Trucy to give a puzzled glare at her brother.

"Who's there?" Trucy curiously asked.

Apollo did not answer, but like a wise one, Trucy did not insist for a reply.

It didn't take too long for Trucy to finally see who the shadow in the darkness was. However, that latter one didn't even give a moment for her to call the newcomer when a loud bang came from the shadow's direction. A sudden dart went straight on Apollo's shoulder, causing him to hiss a loud yelp, but he offered no resistance. Panicked, Trucy cried out to her brother when his arms quickly failed to hold her. Soon, he landed on the sand in a soft thud sound, his limps trying to reach for his sister so he could keep her warm, his eyes half-closed, struggling to keep them open.

"Trucy!" the shadow called as they put their weapon aside and approached the siblings.

Yet, Trucy was still leaning toward her slumbering brother, totally ignoring the voice she immediately recognized as Clay's. She tried to shake Apollo awake, but it was no use. The dart on his shoulder must have some kind of powerful sedative or something.

When Apollo's piercing eyes slowly lost their vivacity and disappeared behind his lids, Trucy angrily turned to Clay, causing the young man to stop his track. "W-Why did you shoot him?" the sister yelled out, few small tears soaring around her.

Clay gently bent down on her side, laying his hands on her shoulders, attempting to calm her down, though it didn't give the anticipated effect when she just childishly back away from him. "I'm sorry," Clay apologized with a worried frown on her. "I had no choice. Sooner or later, he'll go back to his instincts."

"No, he won't!" Trucy protested, and this time, she hit the ground with her mad fists. "Polly saved me, he kept me warm in his arms and… and… we were having fun conversations together, just like in our old life!"

The young vampire tiredly sighed and exasperatedly shook his head. "Trucy, you… still don't understand us, don't you?"

Seeing his comment brought absolutely no comfort to the girl, Clay added a more relieving remark. "And don't worry about Apollo; I just shot a sedative on him. He'll sleep for few hours, but we'll need to bring him to the lab to give him the meds. He's going to be all right."

That was when Phoenix finally reached them, giving awful, exhausted breaths, trying to gasp for air. It was hard being a human running for straight miles. "Truu… cy…" Phoenix huffed as he curved down, his hands resting on his knees. "I… I'm… glad… you… ah… maaade it… Huff, huff…"

Hurriedly, Phoenix took off his coat and wrapped it around Trucy so she could be safe from the cold wind. Still furious, she stayed still, not even making a move to thank Mr. Wright for the coat or react to Clay's previous comment. She just couldn't bear to watch her brother flat on the ground while everyone else was happy.

But deep inside, she knew it was for his own good.

She finally went to give everyone an unexpected affectionate hug.

* * *

The darkness.

The place where he stood was completely dark.

How strange, it had been a while he hadn't seen the complete darkness, ever since he got these enhanced sense of sight, in fact.

Oddly enough, he could totally see himself walking in the blackness of the place like his body was glowing with its own light.

He walked around, trying to call for a presence, but he heard no one, he smelled no one, he saw no one. Where was he anyway? Something was definitely off. He was not scared or anything, but he felt like he was not alone in this seemingly wide room.

"Hello?" he cried, but the only responses he got were his own echoes. Disappointed, he gave up and prepared to sit down.

That was when he finally heard a voice, a rather familiar one. His jaw dropped from the amazement, but it brought him a grin at the same time. He'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"Hello Justice," the mysterious one called.

When he turned around, he saw him, his former angelic mentor standing behind him, all alive and well, displaying his usual peaceful smile. "M-Mr. Gavin!" Apollo spoke with a quaking and confusing tone. "B-But, sir? Weren't you… executed?"

Mr. Gavin gently laughed at the question. "Was I? Maybe, maybe not."

With a sentiment of glee, Apollo dashed forward the man who had saved him and his sister. He couldn't wait to give him that merry hug he had deserved since forever, even if the conditions right now felt so cheesy. After all, Mr. Gavin had never been the hugging type. However, when he reached for him, Apollo tripped as he went through his old mentor like a ghost.

Wait, the Mr. Gavin before him was a ghost.

"Don't worry about me, Justice," the man let him know with his friendly smile. "You won't be able to reach me. I'm merely here to voice my opinion on you."

"Mr. Gavin…" Apollo called again, a bit gloomy of the situation. He went back on his feet, dusting the dirt away from his clothes. His head was kept low as a way to display his little despair for the moment. He had missed his mentor and the fact he couldn't even touch him gave him shivers.

"I just want to tell you how I'm proud of you and your little sister. You've done well. You've become a successful lawyer, and I'm sure Trucy will become a successful magician in the show business one day. You both are truly the Gramarye children. The success runs in your veins."

Yet, Apollo couldn't lift his head up on these encouraging words. "But… I became… one of your kinds…" he shamefully protested.

"How will that prevent you from continuing your dream?" Mr. Gavin kindly interrupted.

The young man went silent. He wasn't so sure of the answer anymore. He had seen his mentor, a vampire, managing to live with humans undetected for long years, like nothing had happened to him. He had witnessed his best friend Clay, even after being hit by the same curse of being reborn, controlling his primal instincts to help the humans. Why couldn't he too? Just when he went into more deep thoughts, another spirit appeared beside his mentor. Apollo shuddered upon seeing the new one.

"Kl… Klavier…" Apollo shyly murmured, almost frightened of him.

But the rock star was giving him a gentle grin. "Are you still feeling bad for what you and Herr Terran had done to me?" Klavier laughed. "Don't worry. It wasn't your fault."

"Though, I must admit, the experience, while oddly thrilling, was awfully painful."

"Klavier!" the older brother strictly cried to his prosecutor sibling, smacking the back of his head.

"Ach!" Klavier exclaimed, surprised by Kristoph's sudden move, but he simply giggled along. Apollo wasn't really finding all of this funny and his mortification worsened instead. "Anyway, Herr Forehead, while I wish I could have stayed longer on Earth, the afterlife isn't too bad. And I came to tell you this."

"You cannot completely return back to your old human life. However, you should use your more powerful senses to make use of your last name."

"You cannot revive me back or revive any of your victims, but you can still bring _justice_ in this realm, make the place a better world where everyone can live together in peace."

"Think you can do that for me, Herr Forehead?"

Finally, after giving Klavier's words deeper considerations, Apollo was able to express a weak smile at his old friend. He possessed a better strength than he had in his human life. He was now aware of his humanity like he could keep his instincts under control, just like before. Klavier was right, he should put his new senses and powers in good use. He nodded in agreement.

"Thank you!" Klavier happily uttered.

He and his older brother turned their back, ready to go back to the realm of the afterlife. Apollo wanted to run after them, but he knew he couldn't. He watched them as their presence started fading away from his view.

"Achtung, baby! It's time for the _last_ serenade!"

And they were no more, though a faint guitar melody was continuously played in the background.

Alone again in the darkness, the slumber started invading Apollo's mind, causing him to close his heavy eyes to the pleasant sound of soft music.

* * *

Date: January 6th 2028, 6:19 AM  
Place: Brellaum Laboratory, Cells Room

The artificial lights when he blinked nearly blinded him. It took him about a minute or so to get used to the brightness after witnessing so much of the night and the darkness for weeks. When all slowly revealed itself around him, he realized he was inside some kind of cylindrical cell of transparent glass in a grand room devoid of living things except himself.

Apollo panicked.

He nervously tried to slam into the glass and hit it with his fists. He even went as far as trying to scratch it with his nails, but the glass prison appeared to be unbreakable. Had human put him in here like a savage animal?

Finally, he glanced around, alarmed by what kind of stuff the people in the place might have been doing to him while he had been deeply unconscious. All the other empty cells and the scientific equipment found around appeared so fishy it gave him shivers on his back.

Then something close to his feet comforted him...

Trucy was outside the cell, peacefully slumbering in a sleeping bag on the floor. He could even hear her gentle, familiar snoring going along her slow breathings.

Wait a second. What was he doing here? What was Trucy doing here? What was this place, anyway? Was this some kind of weird laboratory where people and anything underwent twisted experimentations? Did he become some type of lab rat, a mutant of the sort? What did the humans shove into him?!

_It seems you're finally awake, buddy!_

Apollo jumped at the far away voice. He could hear it perfectly despite this wall of glass that separate him from the rest of the world. He turned to the voice direction to see the one who expressed these friendly words.

"Clay?" Apollo softly called.

Clay appeared to have been sitting far in the room for a while, probably waiting for his friend to wake up from his deep sleep. He was grinning just like his old human self. "Apollo, it's good to see you!"

But Apollo was still worried. "W-Where are we?" the captive one asked.

Like a mascot welcoming guests in an attraction park, his friend opened his arms wide to him. "Welcome to the Brellaum Laboratory!" Clay enthusiastically yelled out, trying to contain his chords of steel to not wake up the girl close to his feet. "That's where they test meds on us, vampires!"

The captive one fell on his butt. He couldn't believe this. His expression of fear revealed a small frown along. "W-What? S-So I'm really a lab rat?" Apollo fretfully blurted out.

His friend gave away a small laugh at him, though Apollo didn't take any offense from it. He knew his friend too much to see this as a mockery. "Not really," Clay confessed. "You do remember Dr. Metis Cykes's researches for the medicines for vampires, the ones that allow vampires to contain their predatory instincts so they don't control their actions anymore?"

That was when Apollo's eyes went wide, nearly blank from the sudden ancient memory that resurfaced before him like a bullet in his soul. "I admit… I have completely forgotten about it…" Apollo declared, ashamed of himself.

"Don't worry, I have forgotten at first too," Clay commented on this with his shy smirk. "Well, it seems Ema and her friends managed to recreate Metis's formulas already, and so far, they have positively worked on all test subjects! With them, our hunger is controlled and we don't need to kill anymore to survive! Isn't that amazing?"

Apollo's expression baffled with realization. He gasped when he directly stared at Clay into his eyes. "So that was why… you were on their side…" Apollo gathered.

"Yeah! And they gave some meds to you too!" Clay almost too proudly exclaimed.

Wait, was that why Apollo felt so serene, despite being stuck between these walls of unbreakable glass? Now that he put more thoughts into it, he couldn't smell anything nor did he feel any hunger or the need to eat anything. Even the recall of the formerly delicious blood didn't awaken his predatory needs.

So Metis's meds worked for real.

"The meds not only control our hunger, but they also allow us to go outside with the sun above our heads!" Clay happily added, though his tone went down a little with his next remark. "Well, we still need to put lot of sunscreen all the time, but hey, it's better than nothing!"

"We still have most of our enhanced senses and our more powerful strength, but unfortunately, we'll probably never go back being human…"

The last of Clay's reveal somehow troubled the mood of the moment, but it didn't matter to Apollo. All he could see were the advantages of these medications when he directed his attention back to his sleeping sister.

"Clay," Apollo gently called his friend again. "Do you mean… I won't have… to change Trucy to live with her?"

A determinate expression came back to Clay upon hearing his best friend's question. "That's exactly it," Clay confirmed with a cool smile.

The tension completely disappeared from Apollo in the very instant. The family will be reunited for good, at last. He'd be crying right now if he wasn't so proud of his manly side before his friend. "That's… good to hear…" Apollo happily murmured, watching the peaceful Trucy who was still in her reverie world.

Another quick grasp hit the captive young man. What about his other family? "Clay, do you know where my mom is?"

He had nearly forgotten about her, and now he was so eager to see her back. Ever since she had disappeared from his life and Trucy's, the thought of his mother never ceased to hunt him whenever he felt lonely.

"Don't worry about Mrs. Gramarye," Clay commented. "She's probably in the laboratory somewhere, helping the scientific folks in the other room. She's been safe with Machi and other humans since you met her!"

Apollo was grateful for the answer. However, someone else was missing and he wanted to know what happened to that particular individual as well.

"And… what about my dad?"

As expected, the question was welcomed by a silence from Clay. His friend frowned, his stare directly into Apollo's. "I'm… sorry about Eros, he never made it." Clay informed.

Apollo's glare took a serious turn. "What happened to him?"

Clay nearly bit his lips at the question. "Eros… was the one who saved you and Trucy. You were falling straight to the rocks below, but your father immediately jumped toward you and pushed you both so you fell in the river instead. However, because of that, he was the one who landed on the rocks. Everything happened so fast, like in two or three seconds."

To this, another silence filled the already quiet room. His father was not the most saint of the men, but Eros still cared a lot about him. "I… see…" was all Apollo said.

Still, Clay didn't need Athena's power to see the little sadness in Apollo over the death of his father. It appeared the son and the father managed to bring their relation closer with each other with the time spent together in the wild. But the subject should rather be shifted for a better turn to avoid more discussion about Eros. Speaking about fathers prompted Apollo to ask another question that would freeze Clay's veins.

"And what about your father, Clay?"

Yet, Clay managed a smile anyway, though it was a quite depressing one. It was true; Apollo might not know about Clay's father's whereabouts, but he would rather not speak about it now.

After all, Clay wanted to grieve alone when the time will be right for him.

"Apollo… I'm fine…" Clay weakly revealed.

"We're… fine, indeed," Apollo went along with his best friend, knowing something had probably happened to Mr. Terran. For the sake of his friend, he just ended the conversation here.

However, Clay insisted of having a more silly chat to uplift the depressing mood. They were going to sink further into a certain sadness if he didn't act now.

"Dude, I've got an idea!" Clay abruptly exclaimed with a huge grin.

"What?" Apollo embarrassedly expressed.

"Let's have our Chords of Steel session!"

"… What? Right now?!"

"Why not?"

"Trucy's asleep!"

"It's okay, she'll have to wake up anyway!"

"… Okay, fine."

* * *

It didn't take long for Trucy to wake up to the sudden loud cries that echoed in this wide room. She tiredly shook her head and was surprised to observe… the strangest event of these recent times. Her brother and his best friend were literally having a contest of who was the finer and the louder of the two. Their shrieks felt like it could destroy the eardrums of anyone passing by. She was glad she had been used to her brother's chords of steel sessions at home, but it was her first time hearing the session from _two_ people at the same time. It was murder to her hearing.

When the two young men noticed the newly awakened girl, they immediately stopped with a muffled laugh as they attempted to cover their mouth in a scornful manner. Normally, Trucy would have grown extremely annoyed by their loud childishness, but this time, she was more than simply pleased to see them act that way together.

It was the reunion she had hoped for.

It didn't matter if her brother became an immortal vampire. He was now back to his old self with his friend. They were now part of the humanity with her and the rest of her companions.

When she felt a warm stream over her red cheeks, she burst into playful tears.

Of course, she wanted to grab Apollo's hands to hold them forever just like when she did as a child so he could protect her from all evils. Unfortunately, this wall of transparent glass wouldn't let her do that. All she did was to put a hand on the glass, waiting for her brother with a peaceful smile. It felt exceedingly cheesy, but to hell with that! She'll enjoy the moment whenever the others will like it or not!

"I'm so glad you're my brother again, Polly…" Trucy sniffled when she muttered her words.

Smiling back at her, Apollo gently placed his hand where Trucy put hers. "I'm so happy to be living with you again, Truce…" Apollo whispered to her, loudly enough for her to hear.

Not long after the awaited reunion, interrupting their blissful moments, it was time for Ema to check on her newest… test subject. In a way, she was scientifically excited as ever to be able to watch over Apollo's progression with the medications, but she was still sad over his fate. Immortality didn't sound too appealing and neither was having the hunger controlled all the time. Ema had told him they still had to put him in this glass cell as safety precaution. Seeing the medications had also worked on Apollo when he had been running wild much longer than Clay, Ema was now positively confident they will work on all vampires.

Finally, soon after Ema's checkup, the one Apollo wanted to see finally made her apparition.

His mother, Thalassa.

However, she didn't appear that pleased to see her son and her daughter. There were regrets and melancholy in her eyes when she carefully glanced at them. Even so, Trucy rushed to her, giving her a long wholehearted hug. Apollo wanted to do the same, but obviously he couldn't. He still bore a grudge toward her since he had learned she was still alive, for leaving them behind after she had been reborn. Even the shame wasn't a good reason enough for her to not come back; she chose to stray away from their lives on her own.

"I'm… sorry for what I've done to you…" Thalassa softly told them, unable to direct her sight on them anymore.

Yet, Apollo understood how she felt about it. He was ready to do the same for Trucy's safety himself, but fate had been kinder to him, it seemed. "It's… all right, Mom…" the son compassionately declared. "We still did well after you were gone, in the end."

However, Thalassa's next move startled everyone.

She was taking her bracelet off and gave it to her daughter. Trucy's eyes opened wide as her mother gently slid the jewel to her wrist. To her daughter's surprise, it slightly shrank down, fitting Trucy's wrist perfectly.

"I… don't need this bracelet anymore," Thalassa added with a smile. "But I'm sure it will be useful to you."

Trucy was left speechless. As she still gulped with curiosity over her new family jewelry piece, she wasn't sure how to react to this. She couldn't even let out a simple "thank you" and instead, she slightly shivered when she touched her golden bracelet with her opposite hand.

"I have so many regrets in my life," the mother remorsefully started. "I have abandoned my first husband, your father Eros, to his doom. Then, even if you forgave me, I still have abandoned you both. That's why… I want to travel the world and do my best to help as many vampires as I can within my power to redeem myself. If I was unable to help my family, at least I'll help others."

"But first, before I go back to the world of darkness to help the ones in need…"

"There's a circus that will stay in town for the entire winter and I want to bring you both there with me as a part of the promise I made to you, all these years ago. I have never forgotten about it."

The two children gasped at their mother's reveal. They couldn't believe it. After all these everlasting years, that insignificant promise she made over her children's overreaction to the town's circus was still deeply hidden in the woman's soul, even when darkness was the only remaining companion in her new life.

Mommy had never stopped to love her cherished children in the end.

_But let's go see this tomorrow, shall we? I'm going to have a hunt session with Uncle Valant and Zak tonight, but tomorrow I'll let them know that I promised you and Trucy we'll go see the circus! Just be patient for another night, all right?_

Although their "another night" had lasted more than few years…

…they both cried.

* * *

Date: March 25th 2034, 4:16 PM  
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office

"Polly! Polly!"

The older brother let escape a weary sigh as he detracted his focus from all his cases paperwork to look at his calling little sister instead. To his surprise, she was not alone this time: she was tenderly holding the hand of an unfamiliar young man. Both Trucy and the man on her side were widely smiling together. It didn't take a genius to guess the man was his sister's new boyfriend. If not, then he was possibly a very, _very_ close friend stuck in the famous _friendzone_ men feared so much, strangely enough. Yet, with Trucy's age and her weird tendency to speak without a slight shame about her adventures with her male companions, Apollo very much doubted it. Probably another random one she met in her university, he exasperatedly thought.

"Look!" Trucy insisted to bring further attention from her brother to the new guy beside her. "I want to introduce you to Cody Hackins!"

Shyly but still self-assured of himself, the young man waved a hand at the serious lawyer behind the desk. "Hey there, buddy!" Cody greeted Apollo. "Nice to meet ya!"

However, Apollo's lips returned absolutely no sign of visible smile as he kept his intense glare on the young man holding his sister's hand. Cody tensed a little, but he was aware big caring brothers were always a little more protective with their younger siblings. "Hello, Mr. Hackins," Apollo finally welcomed in return, his voice virtually sounding like a robot with no emotion. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

Trucy coldly shuddered to her brother's emotionless and formal voice, but she was used to it. It seemed to be his natural way whenever she had male friends on her sides and whenever Apollo was around them. "Cody, meet Apollo, aka Polly!" the sister squealed to her new boyfriend. "He's my big brother and he's a lawyer working under the famous attorney Phoenix Wright!"

A gasp took over Cody before the excitement appeared on his expression. "Oh yeah!" the young man exclaimed. "I remember Mr. Wright! He was the one who defended Will Powers, the Steel Samurai actor back then!" A sudden pride was seen in the glint of his eyes. "I even took part of his trial as a witness! Thanks to my awesome testimony and my photograph talents, Will Powers was found not guilty!"

As expected, the comment got no reaction at all from the lawyer, but it drove Trucy to sweetly hug Cody for his heroic feat. "Wow! That must have been awesome indeed!" she cheerfully blurted out before she turned to her brother. "Don't you think so, Polly?"

To please his sister, Apollo decided to play along, managing a weak, fake smile, still with the same monotone voice. "Yes, it could be."

"Oh no!" Trucy cried out with a jump, putting her hands on her mouth. "I forgot my phone in my car! Just wait here, Cody, I'll go get it!"

"W-Wait!" Cody spurted out, but Trucy was a fast runner: she had already disappeared behind the door. Quietly, Cody turned back to the working lawyer's direction, realizing he was now alone with the ostensibly overprotective, icy glaring older brother who still had his piercing hazel eyes at him. It slightly scared the young man.

"Hum… so yeah…" Cody timidly tried to start a conversation with Apollo. "Trucy's a great girl…"

The reply he got from the brother was a strict silence. Cody faintly backed away from him, sweating bullets. "… Nice weather, isn't it?"

This time he got a small reaction: a stern frown appeared on Apollo's face. Cody froze to it. "So you're Truce's new boyfriend, aren't you?" the lawyer nearly interrupted him, completely ignoring the young man's silly question.

In this awkward moment, Cody nervously grasped at his own collar, faking to replace it. "Huh, yeah!" he simply answered.

Apollo's frown furrowed further. "Can you tell me what do you find in her?" the brother resolutely asked.

Cody was now afraid to open his lips, but he had to make a good impression on him, for his girlfriend's sake! "Well…" the young man sluggishly started. "I find her very beautiful and AHHH-"

Poor Cody had been interjected by a spontaneous loud, rough growl that escaped the lawyer's lips. "So you're only here for sex?" Apollo snarled at him, having absolutely no disgrace to openly mention the "S" word like it was a natural thing and yet a type of sin at the same time.

The other man nearly fell on his back, wanting to run away, but… he loved Trucy too much to back away now! "W-What!?" Cody fearfully chattered out stridently. "N-No! N-Never…! Wait! Not n-never! B-But no! I m-m-mean… She's so… so… charming, s-smart, funny-y, intelligent, g-geeky like m-me…"

_PleaseDontEatMe!_ Cody murmured very speedily but lowly, practically covering his head with his arms like he wanted to hide away, but Apollo could hear him perfectly.

For a split of second, to the young man's relief, Apollo directed his attention on the piece of jewel his left wrist was wearing. Oddly, Cody was astonished it looked exactly like the bracelet Trucy had on herself. However, his freedom from the older brother's intense glare only last a mere second before he felt watched again.

To his appeasement, this time, the greatness of the frown on Apollo's brows lightened. "Okay, I believe you," the lawyer finally revealed, and to this, Cody felt like melting by the release of the pressure. He had been accepted at last by the big brother and it seemed like he had passed the ultimate question of an awful but very important school exam.

The happiness reigned over the agency as soon as a flushing sound was heard from the bathroom, which attracted the curiosity from both young men. Another young woman with a scarf over her long orange-brown hair and with few cleaning equipment on her hands walked out of the bathroom. She had a visible frown that appeared to be directed toward the lawyer sitting behind the endless papers on his desk. Was she the cleaning lady of the office?

Wait, she had an attorney badge on her collar too. An attorney… cleaning the toilets?

"Hey, Apollo!" the woman cried out to him, practically scolding him. To Cody's astonishment, Apollo was actually listening to her with a slight horrified expression. "Stop scaring all of Trucy's male friends! I heard everything you just said and now, that Cody boy's terrified to death!"

Upon listening to the woman, Apollo bashfully scratched his cheeks as they blushed from a faint humiliation. "I'm… sorry, Athena," he apologized with an undignified tilted head on the side, turning away from the girl. Wait, was the overprotective big brother actually apologizing, for real?

This time, Athena rushed closer to Apollo, strictly bending over the sitting older brother. Aggressively, she incessantly started poking him with her index on his head and his shoulders. Surprisingly, the man offered no struggle against the woman, though he was defenselessly trying to stop her finger trajectories with his hands. "Don't apologize to me!" Athena reprimanded him furthermore than necessary. "You apologize to poor Cody!"

Finally, when everything seemed to have settled for the better to Cody's side, with Athena rigorously crossing her arms as she glared at the working man, Apollo returned his concern on the still slightly frightened young man. This time, a more lively vigor was now seen over the brother's face. It was so new to Cody the "happier" expression on Apollo scared him more than his impassive face.

"All right, I'm truly sorry about this, Mr. Hackins," Apollo finally made a sincere apology to the petrified young boyfriend before going straight for a huge grin, unintentionally revealing his fangs in the process. Cody jumped again from the sudden scare. "It's just… Trucy's my little sister… It's a big brother instinct, I tell you!"

Cody truly hoped there weren't more than brotherly _instincts_.

"Heya guys, I'm back!" another flashy feminine voice saved him from the terror that filled his spirits. The young man felt like bouncing uncontrollably behind his girlfriend as a way to protect himself from the vampire brother that might take another look at him in a funny, angry way. However, he attempted to remain the stable and intrepid boyfriend for Trucy, at least. How could he be so scared of his hypothetical future… _stepbrother_?

Clearly, it was now time for Trucy to give a weird eye when she noticed the sweats on her boyfriend. "Hey, Cody, you look tense. What's the matter?"

"N-No, I'm f-f-fine!" he responded back with a ceaseless shiver.

Yet, Trucy's piercing stare was still intensifying while he muttered these words. When she felt her bracelet tightening, she gave away a tiny grimace of pain before returning her focus on her boyfriend. "Huh? Stop lying to m-" she began with a perplexed tone… until her mind turned to Athena who still had her arms crossed like a strict mother and Apollo whose frown was back with a hint of discomfiture.

Then she made the connections with a mortified "Oh…"

In a sneaky manner, the alarmed Cody approached himself closer to Trucy, tensely whispering into her ear. "Y-You never told me that your brother is a… a…"

Realizing what had exactly caused her boyfriend's awkwardness, she warmly gave him a quick hug to reassure him before beaming with a wide, soothing smile. "Oh, sorry about that!" Trucy exclaimed with glee, louder than required. "It's just… I see him, like, every day, and he's my dearest family! So he's my favorite big brother!"

"Also, you don't need to whisper, he'll still hear everything you say," she derisively added, and her remark killed the relieving moment for poor Cody.

To remove furthermore worry from the young man, Athena decided to help him too, drawing her sight on him with another comforting grin. "You shouldn't worry about such little things, Cody!" Athena cheerfully informed. "We're a bunch of happy lawyers and magicians family after all!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Trucy declared with her friend. "And aside, Polly shouts more than he bites, literally!"

Thus, Cody REALLY hoped Trucy was right. Because the cold, protective glare he was being given by the older vampire brother was still glued onto his person as soon as the two protecting girls had let escape the lawyer from their sights.

* * *

Since the year 2030, realizing the success of Metis's researches with the medicines for vampires thanks to the good talkative side of the Cosmos Space Center director, new laws had been implemented for the vampires under the medications to live in peace among the human population. At nearly one hundred percent of positive results on the test subjects, the fear for vampires, while still present among the mass, had lessened to the point it was seen as a normality for them to wander among people.

However, to make sure people were able to distinguish humans from vampires, those "licensed" vampires under the medications must have a tiny tracking chip planted in their back. They must also wear a fairly visible collar around their neck with an electronic device that took a small, painless sample of their blood every day to make sure the medications were flowing in them. These collars indicated with a light whenever the vampire took the medications or not. They had to wear it each time they went outside in the public world and they had to have their chip inside them, or else they'll be deemed as normal roaming vampires and they could still be killed like in the old hunting laws epoch.

Since the government was now funding the researches to help these vampires, and along it, making the world a safer place to live for both humans and vampires, their presence was still seen as a controversy. Debates were being discussed about licensed vampires: some of them still committed evil deed like murders and other humane crimes. However, there were evil humans among the population as well, so any licensed vampires found guilty of their evil doings were still judged like humans. That was unless they were proven to have not taken the medications at the time of their crime.

Sadly, the vampire living with humans were bound by the medications and these restrictions, but most of them led a good life with their old friends and families, whenever they were related by blood or simply by the foster system. Most of them even got to have normal jobs.

Instead of searching for vampires to kill for their own lucrative reasons, hunters around the world were now being funded to find these creatures and capture them as test subjects in the many laboratories that have opened all around the country, and soon the world. A new ambitious name was given for these hunting sessions which the mass called the vampires' "Second Chance". This new "law" basically forgive all the human victims who had fallen under the fangs of the newly licensed vampires before they were subjected to the medications. Yet, that was the only chance given to them. See them fail only once by returning to the world of instincts and darkness with new human preys and they won't get any more luck. A "third" chance didn't exist.

With the years, the late Metis Cykes was honored as a heroine around the globe and the vampire menace weakened over time. Even if there were still many of them lurking around for blood lust, they were getting more uncommon since any vampires under the medications permanently lost their powers to give a "rebirth" on humans.

Each vampire had now their second chance to come back and live with the humans in peace, just like they did before they were reborn.

The world was now a slightly better place to live in, with one worldwide problem in the midst of others partially solved.

* * *

Using her immortality to take all of her time for new discoveries and knowledge, Aura Blackquill was now carefully studying psychology with her little brother Simon as way to continue the technology side of Metis's researches. She wished to improve the robots she will create, making them even better than their creations born from their collaboration, Ponco and Clonco.

Simon Blackquill continued his career as a prosecutor, though he has stopped hunting since that path wasn't that lucrative anymore. He became a top-notch lawyer that would almost rival his former comrade Miles Edgeworth and he was given the nickname of the Samurai prosecutor. Oddly enough, he was still the only one who was allowed to bring a pet in court, his trustful hawk Taka.

Athena Cykes maintained her defense attorney job in the Wright Anything Agency, keeping on using her famous Mood Matrix function from her Widget device to help witnesses and defendants. She would be the one to bring joy among all the other employees of the agency. She found herself a side job as a psychologist for the people in need of consulting in nearby schools and few special centers.

Ema Skye had finally taken a liking into her detective job by working with few other prosecutors who all seemed to approve her scientific techniques during investigations. She also enjoyed making the lawyers, prosecutors and defense attorneys alike, use her science equipment, still pretending to be too clumsy with the things. She was later offered a new career in the crime forensic department in the city. Obviously, she immediately took on the offer. She still accompanied her law friends during investigations whenever she was free.

Thalassa Gramarye and Machi Tobaye decided to help random hunters capture more vampires for their "Second Chance" to make up for all the human lives lost on them. They also travelled the world in separate ways as missionaries for the sane vampires who wished to undergo the medication process to live among humans. While they hardly get to see Machi again, the siblings constantly received a surprise visit from their mother.

Phoenix Wright remained a great lawyer and a mentor for all of his employees. Soon enough, his agency was the main subject in the world of law within the city. Though his pupils were pleading him to move their office to a bigger place, Phoenix insisted of staying in the same rented office because this place reminded him of his late mentor. He went as far as keeping that movie poster on the wall no one knew about and their plant mascot, Charley. One day, he had finally decided to take contact again with his old girlfriend, Iris, thanks to the constant pressure he was getting from his old assistant Maya Fey. Her cousin, Pearl Fey, remained bitter over the couple. While Phoenix and Iris never married, they happily lived together until the end without having any children.

Clay Terran had taken his time to grieve over the death of his father and was invited back to the Cosmos Space Center for more missions in space. He had finally achieved his long life dream of flying over the moon. To the Space Center joy, since his vampire medications cost much less than human food, sending Clay to space was much cheaper than sending humans. Thus, Clay had been chosen for a mission to Mars that will last a year. Thankfully, his mission on the red planet was a successful one.

Trucy Enigmar was finally able to maintain a long time relationship with Cody Hackins. They married and had a boy from their relation. With her new son, her husband and her brother, her family had lived a prosperous time together. To Trucy's disappointment, her son wasn't too keen on becoming an illusionist like her. Trucy became a famous magician in the show business. She recruited few other magicians for her newly formed troupe which she also named the Gramarye Troupe to honor her late grandfather and the old adult trio. She sometimes performed with her mother when she was available. To her joyful surprise, one day, a familiar man had decided to help her with few trick performances for her shows. The man's name was Valant.

Apollo Justice remained a successful lawyer in the Wright Anything Agency. Despite his vampire condition, he was still the same easily flustered young man he used to be in court. He always managed to keep the innocents away from a guilty verdict. To make up for the victims he had killed before being subjected to the medications, he watched over the people around him and especially his family that kept growing up thanks to his sister's marriage. Obviously, all of her descendants ended up calling him Uncle Polly or Grandpa Polly, though he never minded the nickname.

* * *

Date: May 4th 2111, 8:01 AM  
Place: District Cemetery

Even without his sense of scent, he could feel the soft smoking cloud from the strong incense hitting his delicate nostrils. Carefully holding it between his palms, he gave away few gentle whispers in front of the restful gravestone raised solely for her. After he finished his peaceful spoken words, he meticulously placed the incense so it stood still in the moist soil. Slowly, he raised back on his feet, giving a kind smile over the tombstone.

Lifting his head up, he started a monologue to the sky.

"Well, you'd be one hundred years old today, so I came to give you a little greeting. I guess you're fine wherever you are. Our family's all right and healthy and I still watch over them for you."

Feeling a little uncomfortable to be speaking alone in the middle of this cemetery, among all the other beautifully erected carved marbles, he watched around him to see if there was anyone who'd attempt to listen to his words. He blushed a little, but the shy, warm feeling of his tension faded away when the only people he noticed around the place were other families far away, grieving over their lost ones just like he was doing.

Safe from their views, he went back to his private speech.

"You know, it's kinda funny. Remember the old years, when people keep telling us how we looked younger than our age? I remember people telling me how I looked like a fifteen years old when I was twenty-three. Now that doesn't even apply. One hundred seven and still looking like a twenty-three years old, or rather fifteen. I guess there's a sad side on this immortality, watching all the loved mortal ones outgrowing me, getting old and finally fading away, but…"

He gradually shrugged before he released his shoulders, letting them heavily fall down, leaving out a long breath, nodding to no one in particular.

"… I guess that's part of my everlasting curse."

His lonely monologue ending in a sad note, he turned away from the stone. However, he stood still, not really wanting to move from his spot. His head curved back to its former direction in a feeble, nostalgic way. His eyes refused to budge from the grave.

"Hey, Truce," he softly called. "Tell everyone over there I love them too, all right?"

… _Apollo…_

A sudden mild voice tenderly called him from the front as his head turned away. "W-What?!" Apollo fretfully called, returning his sight in front of him like a lightning bolt. "Who goes here? Wh-"

Upon seeing the one who stood before his eyes, he interrupted himself, shutting his lips when his panicked surprise became a curiosity. A young man, almost like a boy, stood there, his calm, angelic stare looking over Apollo like he was some revelation to him.

The stranger smiled furthermore when he approached him. However, his eyes were giving away a little sorrow. "Hello…" the other one shyly greeted.

Apollo's orbits widened, keeping his glance on the boy. Like himself, he was wearing one of these collars all licensed vampires had to carry around their neck whenever they got out among the mass.

No, that was impossible…

"I thought… you died…" Apollo remorsefully whispered.

The other vampire gently laughed on these words. "Did… anyone actually see me… die? It should be a family tradition now," he softly muttered, almost mockingly, but there was a faint tone of regret.

A short pause was made before Apollo smiled back at the young man. At last, it seemed his companion decided to come back in the human world, leaving his sinful past behind, choosing the path of light over his road of darkness.

"Long time no see, Daddy."

The End

* * *

**Author's comment: **_I might add that the part with Apollo VS Cody was probably my favorite part to write in this entire story. It has all the awkward and family/friendship moments I like in a fictional scenario._

_I really enjoyed writing this piece. After all, it's my very first "experimental" fic where I started writing every chapters in English from scratch without using a full French version as a draft. There were many parts where I had so much difficulties I was about to give up, but in the end, I managed to finish my longest story ever (my former longest story was a Fire Emblem family fic that can also be found on this site, which I never got to finish due to loss of inspiration for the fandom in general and the fact I was busy as hell with college at the time)._

_I'm aware my writing isn't perfect and definitely not novel-like, but I shall keep writing to get better, eventually. Criticisms over my writing and the plot are always welcome._

_I'm not the kind of person to beg for reviews, favorites or anything of the sort, because to me, people have the freedom to not comment or to hate a story if they choose to, even if they read the entire story. __**HOWEVER**__, I __**humbly**__ thank anyone who had commented on this story, because, frankly, you gave me happiness over my mood and my writings. Before getting any reviews, I wasn't too much aware how my writing was because English is not my main language, so getting few encouraged me a lot!_

_I also __**GREATLY**__ thank "__**THE real assistant**__" for basically reviewing EVERY chapters since you started reviewing on a certain chapter! You are actually one of the main reasons for fast updates! If any of you like this story, I suggest reading their stories too!_

_Of course, I also thank everyone who read this story, put it in their favorites, follow this fic, comment, etc. You are all awesome. Merci beaucoup!_

_Also, there's going to be an **extra** ending soon. :)_


	26. Surprise Extra Happy Ending

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Surprise Extra Happy Ending**

"_Long time no see, Daddy. The End._"

Trucy was balancing on her feet back and forth, intensely staring as Athena read out loud the last lines of her fiction story. The lawyer had a little more than one hundred letter format papers between her hands, with tiny letters printed on both sides with the said story. The magician was now eager to hear what her employee had to say about her typed "masterpiece" now that she had reached the end of it.

When Trucy had told Athena she had an interesting job for her in this Wright _Anything_ Agency this morning today, Athena didn't expect this! The young lawyer didn't believe it'd take her whole shift for that new job, which was to read the entire piece of fiction! It took her boss's daughter about a two weeks to write it as a school homework!

Slowly raising a hand with a pointed index, Athena opened her mouth to give a comment. Yet, no words came out from it and at the same time her higher finger suddenly curved down. Maybe the junior attorney felt a little faint. After all, who wouldn't after spending long, consecutive hours to read more than two hundred pages in one go? Disappointment could be seen on Trucy's expression before she raised an eyebrow at her friend's exasperation, but she managed her enthusiasm. "Soooo, what do you think, Athena?" Trucy wailed with a grin.

Athena scratched the back of her head then left out a long sigh that would have compete against Mr. Starbuck's. She directed her stare on the side, not even looking at Trucy. "Well, that was… original… Or I don't know…" Athena admitted.

Shocked, Trucy put her fists on her hips with an unhappy sulk. "Aw, c'mon! Try using more passion in your comment!"

A sudden frown appeared on the lawyer. "Hey!" she exclaimed, nearly protesting. "I've just spent like… the whole shift reading your fiction story! I mean… please give me more time to gather my thoughts together. I kinda need… hours of mental rest so I can make something out of it. And aside, I'm kinda thirsty and hungry… I even skipped dinner and my break to finish reading this in time!"

Crossing her arms in disagreement, Trucy looked away, attracting her attention on the ceiling that suddenly looked more interesting to her eyes. "Daw, you're no fun! I had spent hours trying to write this piece for school! My teacher said she wanted a little drama story."

A horrified gasp came out from Athena's lips. "_Little drama story?_" the lawyer cried out before she was stuck by a moderately long pause. "Trucy! This story is more than two hundred pages long! A short story is about… like… no more than two to five pages long!"

"Well she said a minimum of two pages, so I reached the required minimum, at least!" Trucy cheered on her work.

_That poor teacher's gonna spend an entire day reading this thing!_ Athena thought, pitying on the woman who was going to read the fictional story.

Another realization hit Athena when she thought about the said characters of the "little" drama story. "Also, why did you use real life people in this?" she asked, perplexed.

Trucy was unable to hide her enthusiasm when she made a sudden jump toward her friend. "Well, since I learned Polly's my long lost big brother, and since I saw… how badly we treated him, I knew I had to give him more love! So I made him the main character and I made his best friend alive! I think after all the bad things we did to him and with the more recent loss of his friend Clay, he definitely endured too much lately, the poor guy! So why not imagining how life would have been if we were all together since forever? It should have been so much fun!"

Athena was speechless. She knew about their blood relationship since it was revealed several months ago, but she would never think Trucy would go as far as writing a long story of her together with her newly revealed older half-brother, and with vampires to top it all! "Huh, I guess so… did Apollo actually read your story?" Athena questioned.

"Gosh, no!" Trucy immediately answered with a yelp, nearly mortified. "I'd feel… too embarrassed if he reads it! I mean… I made him a vampire and stuff! How will he react to this?!"

The lawyer felt like giving up to Trucy's short despair. "All right, then!" Athena exclaimed. "But, I mean, you can't just write a long story like this and only let two people read it, and by two people I mean me and your teacher!"

"Three actually!" Trucy objected with a grin.

Athena jolted. "Huh? Who's the third?"

"Daddy, of course!"

And dumbfounded Athena was. Since when did Mr. Wright love to read long fiction stories? "The boss reads the entire thing?!" Athena blurted out. If she would be drinking water, she'd spit it all out.

"Yeah!" the magician replied with a beam in her shining eyes. "And Daddy thought it was cool! But he was disappointed when he'd been overshadowed by his own pupil! And that I made Kristoph nicer, but he kinda giggled a lot when Klavier died!"

This left Athena silent for a long minute. Since when people sneered at other people's misery, even in fiction? "Huh… That was awkward," she whispered to herself, rubbing her chin and frowning at her boss's slight sadistic side.

A surprise awaited the two girls when they heard the office door behind them making a creaking sound when it opened itself, revealing the main subject of the fictional story itself. "Hey there Athena, hey Trucy," a brunette young man called Apollo calmly greeted them from the door. "It's time for your show at the Wonder Bar."

Horrified that she hadn't taken the time to watch the clock above her head since Athena had started reading her story, Trucy suddenly grabbed the sides of her head with her gloved hands. "Oh no!" she shrieked with panic. "I totally forgot! And I don't have much remaining time to get there!"

Like a super heroine, Athena made a step forward, pointing her finger to the sky above, grinning like she was going to save the world from a malicious evil. "Don't worry, Trucy!" Athena pompously cried. "I came with my bike today! Just hop behind me and we'll get there in no time!"

Relieved, Trucy made a joyful jump and went to give a big hug to her savior. "Thanks Athena! You're a life saver!"

After she released the lawyer from her arms, the two girls rushed to the door, with Trucy leaving a "Bye Polly!" before she disappeared with Athena to the exit.

"Bye Truce, bye Athena!" Apollo left out as he watched the entrance door closed itself. He gave an exhausted sigh, just wanting to go home in his small cozy apartment and get a good night sleep. However, something over the corner picked his curiosity. He took a glance at it and saw the big pile of printed papers. He gave the first page a quick read.

"Hum... '_Everlasting Turnabout, the dramatic story of a vampire hunter, by Trucy Wright_'. Hey, that must be Trucy's school work. Maybe I can help my little sister with her homework!"

He started reading the prologue…

…

**The End. For Real.**

* * *

_**Author's note**: I had to add that ending because of my tradition to give all my stories a silly ending, even for super serious and tragic stories._

_I actually wrote an alternate bad ending for this story and I'm writing a second bad ending too. I'll post them later. Of course, since they are bad endings, you are not required to read them because they are **extremely **depressing. One ending should be read just after Chapter 3, and the other one after the 3/4 of the Chapter 23._


	27. Alternate Ending: A Shattered Innocence

_I actually like bad endings, so let's try one just for the heck of it. This chapter feels more like horror than any genre, I think._

_The following ending is so depressing I nearly fell asleep while writing it. It didn't help I wrote this during night shifts at the job, lol. You don't have to read it. :/ Think of this ending as "__**Alternate Chapter 4**__" since it happens just after __**Chapter 3**__._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Alternate Ending: A Shattered Innocence**

Date: June 12th 2015, 10:51 PM  
Place: Gavin's Condo, Siblings' bedroom

A nightmare brought him back from his deep slumber. Heavy breathings escaped his tired mouth when he reached for his chest, where his heart was banging madly like he had been on the run for long hours. Sweats poured over his forehead like a stream before he started shaking with fear. What kind of stupid nightmare was that?

Of all the dreams his brain could have offered, he had to endure one where he had finally found his mother back, only to discover she had been reborn into one of these cruel vampires. Just when he was getting used to a life without her, his scumbag brain decided to press him hard with her existence once again, not wanting to let her go from his grasps. Somehow, this caused few sad tears to flow across his cheeks with random sobs coming out from the lips he attempted to keep shut, but it was no use.

He nervously glanced on his side to find a relieving sight. His little sister was still peacefully sleeping on the other bed. From his place, he could hear her gentle snoring. That lucky Trucy; she was still so young it was probably easier for her to forget about all the events they both went through together lately. At least that will allow her to keep her sweet dreams.

Decidedly a little jealous of his sister serenity under this circumstance, Apollo slowly returned his head on his pillow in his most comfortable pose and closed his eyes. However, the traces of tears and the feeling of dried eyes were preventing him to fully keep his lids shut. The poor kid slightly growled in frustration, nearly waking his sister when she began to move with a soft murmur to the sounds he caused. The slumber didn't appear to come back to him anytime soon.

Trying to get rid of his nightmare thoughts, Apollo felt he had no choice but to get something to eat in the fridge. Maybe this will appease his evil brain and this time, he'll get his good night sleep. To his surprise, he saw Mr. Gavin in the kitchen carefully placing the new groceries stock he had just bought for the siblings. Somehow, seeing this simple, everyday move from his protector soothed his mind a little.

"Hey Mr. Gavin, you're back from your late night shopping?" Apollo leisurely asked with a long yawn.

The older man chuckled at the young kid. "Indeed, there was a huge bargain on chicken wings and fruits," Mr. Gavin said. "I know how you and Trucy love them. You're going to both be full for at least two weeks."

The smile came back on Apollo's newly cheerful expression. "Wow! That was so kind of you, sir! Thank you!" the boy exclaimed before he plunged his arms straight into one of the groceries bags, grabbing one of the juicy apples.

"Remember, you're part of this home too, Justice. No need for thanks," the man added, amused by the child's enthusiasm over such simple foods. "Might I mention that eating before sleeping isn't the brightest idea? They say eating an apple a day will keep the doctor away, but science has proven these also keep your bed away. You should keep your apple for another time or you'll get nightmares."

Apollo shuddered on Mr. Gavin's last word. He wasn't going to have another nightmare, but somehow, his stomach felt like growling in the most wrong of the moments. In a childish manner, he silently cursed both his brain and stomach for working together to tease him, it seemed. To forget about his slight hunger, he responded to the man: "It's okay, I can't sleep anyway."

The man raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?" the blond one asked.

"Hum… I just had a nightmare and… well… you know… They're scary and stuff…"

A sigh escaped the man's lips but he nodded to the boy with a feeble pity. "I'll let you stay up until later. I'll make an exception for now since today's Friday night and you won't have school tomorrow."

Smiling at the boy, Mr. Gavin looked out for a box of homemade cupcakes in a cutely decorated cover and offered it to him. Apollo's eyes went wide from the amazement. He hadn't had cupcakes since his mother and uncles disappeared and he was now really eager to get some for himself. After thanking his mentor for them, he immediately clutched onto the box and went to sit on the couch in the living room, ready to devour them like a hungry beast. Leaving Mr. Gavin in his duty to tidy the fridge with his newest purchases, Apollo searched for the remote to turn on the TV before going straight for his cupcake box.

However, he lost his appetite as soon as he noticed what was exactly playing on the TV. It felt so odd, watching two adults wrestling so contentedly on the screen nearly naked. He knew exactly what was going on, but he'd rather use the word "wrestling" to not disgust himself. With the remote ready at hands, he immediately changed the channel and went for the boring news instead, to his relief. He hated them, but it was better than… what his almost innocent eyes just accidentally observed.

After the adult was done with the groceries, he came back with a glass of milk for Apollo. "You know," the man began in a sort of nostalgic way. "When I was a kid, I used to love sweets with milk. It was a good mix."

Wait, so Mr. Gavin used to be able to eat like a normal person? Didn't he mention about having an eating disorder or something before? While Apollo took ahold of his glass of milk with a small thanking bow, he decided to go straight with the question. "You could eat like us before, Mr. Gavin?"

Suddenly, it happened.

Apollo tensed along with his bracelet that tightened around his wrist.

It was only a small tension, but why would the man feel tense over such simple, guiltless question?

To his satisfaction, Mr. Gavin didn't notice his slight discomfiture. "Yes, of course," the man responded with a small laugh. "My disorder came with an accident."

No, it couldn't. It happened again. Right when he said "accident"…

…Apollo winced while holding his bracelet.

This time, the man took notice of the boy's action.

"Is something the matter?" Mr. Gavin curiously asked.

Hiding his own tension wasn't really his forte, wasn't it? Apollo weakly shook his head in disbelief. He didn't believe Mr. Gavin had something to hide from him. How could such a mere subject somehow cause him to marginally worry? It simply began with cupcakes and milk! "No, no, nothing, sir!" Apollo absurdly expressed with a grin just after shoving a gulp of cupcake in his mouth, showing visible trace of the food between his teeth. "Your cupcakes are very good! I should keep some for Trucy too!"

Thankfully, the cupcakes really helped him to lift away from the tension he was feeling from Mr. Gavin. There was no way he couldn't trust him! He was their savior, their protector! The relief reigned in the room once again when the man gave away a kind smile to the boy's enthusiasm over the sweets. Somehow, it appeared Mr. Gavin might be a little jealous over the kid's ability to eat simple food like normal people, in a friendly way.

However, it seemed the subject would soon shift toward a new direction, and this time, the question caused an indistinct jolt on the kid. "You know, it's always a good idea to speak about your nightmares," Mr. Gavin gently started, looking up to the ceiling like he was observing the night sky. "It gives us the opportunity to let them go in the process."

Thoughtful while watching his glass of milk, Apollo wasn't quite sure if he really wanted to speak about his previous nightmare. After all, it was about his mother. While he will never completely toss the memory of her existence aside, he wished he could simply move on with his life. He had already processed with the idea of never seeing her again, so he didn't know if talking about the dream to Mr. Gavin will give the positive effect the man believed it will result.

He'll never know unless he tried, and aside, he got nothing to lose or gain.

The boy was hesitant to speak, but in the end, he kind of did. "Well… it's kinda too silly to tell…"

Mr. Gavin chuckled along his comment. "No nightmares are silly, Justice. All of them bring darkness in our heart."

That… couldn't be…

His bracelet tightened once again and this time a little harder. He could perceive the man's nervous tic on his fingers as soon as he mentioned the word "heart". There was even a barely perceptible, subtle pause before the word! Why… was that? Did something happen to his _heart_?

No, he had to toss his power aside for now. This was definitely not the right moment for perceiving anything. It was surely in these times he wished he never had that power his mother left him and his sister. So many secrets and lies lurked around, and now he realized Mr. Gavin was not part of the exceptional truthful people. So even their angel had his share of secrets…

"Hmm… I dreamed… my mother became a vampire and she wanted to eat Trucy and I…"

"… Vampire?" Mr. Gavin giggled along.

Except this time, Apollo was unable to hide the tension that struck him when he was carefully observing the man. His bracelet nearly went wild around his wrists and he knew exactly when the tension came.

Right when Mr. Gavin replied. With the word _vampire_.

Infuriated, Apollo violently took off his bracelet from his left wrist and precipitously threw it away to the floor with a furious, short whine like his jewel was giving him a sudden scare. Mr. Gavin nearly jumped upon Apollo's abrupt move. Unfortunately to him, it seemed the jewel had already spoken the truth about the man before him.

Mr. Gavin was hiding something. Something big, something related to these… creatures of the night.

…

Everything pointed at the man. First, it was his "eating disorder". He had heard about eating disorders before, but Mr. Gavin refused to eat anything in front of anyone. Second, there was his "accident" that had caused his disorder. Third, he spoke of the "heart" and he tensed at the word. And last, even though he was a hunter, there was no way a normal human being had to avoid the day light _all the time_.

Unless he was _not_ a normal human being, one with… no heartbeat and… a fear of sunlight…

Now, Apollo's curiosity was killing him. He had to know, even though he was utterly terrified now. His instincts caused him to speak his next words with an impressive shiver.

"Sir… A-A-Are you a… vamp…"

Mr. Gavin immediately frowned with cold, frightening eyes when the boy's last word was pronounced. Apollo's glance was glued to his, unable to turn his stare away. He was too scared to move. Even without his bracelet around his wrist, he could perceive them clearly…

…a demon on Mr. Gavin's right hand and barely visible sharp fangs under his half-open lips.

Before the glass of milk he was holding even clashed in a loud crashing sound onto the floor, a fast moving beast of hell brutally pinned him hard to the floor. It was Mr. Gavin that was on the top of him, firmly gripping the child by the hands and the head, restraining him with his much bigger body. Apollo was screaming of pain and terror but to shut him up, the man quickly placed a hand on the boy's mouth. His cry became muffled like a silent wind.

However, despite the struggles from the hopeless boy under him, Mr. Gavin was now smiling with the same angelic, peaceful expression he always wore. "I… knew one day, you'd find out about my… cursed condition. The time just came much sooner than I expected, though."

When the man gently approached his serene face close to the boy's neck, Apollo could feel the low, cold growl emanating from the dark spawn's mouth like a repulsive spider crawling on his soft skin. This gave him tears to his eyes and his struggle to free himself from the monster unexpectedly became rougher. Yet, Mr. Gavin wouldn't flinch at all.

"Struggle all you wish, Justice. No one will hear you within these soundproof walls, except your little sister, that's it."

Hearing about his sister triggered Apollo to stop moving with a startling realization.

No, Mr. Gavin won't eat her too, won't he?

_Please, not Trucy… She's so young…_

Mr. Gavin's words took a calm, exhilarated tone. "I should… devour you both, because, oh! How tasteful is the blood of children! They are the best to satisfy my hunger! Yet… you both should be grateful. Why? Because you were born a Gramarye."

It was when Apollo understood the true reason why the man had taken him and his sister under his care. There was even no need to think about it when Mr. Gavin… no, Kristoph, was taking a great pleasure to explain himself, like a man on his stage with his marveled audience before him. "Lately, with your little… power, you've been a great help to raise the number of my primes. My enhanced smelling sense should be enough to find more of my kinds to hunt, you might say. Actually, humans and vampires smell the same, so it's even hard for a sane vampire like myself to distinguish those spawns of hell from the greedy humans. Your sixth sense does a great deal for me!"

The living nightmare pushed the child harder to the ground with his weight and hands, so much some of his polished nails cut deep into the boy's skin with some blood protruding out of his new excruciating wounds. Kristoph's voice suddenly became more joyful than ever as he inhaled the delightful fragrance from the boy's red fluid.

"Also, I admit. I've grown… fond of you two. I… enjoy your company, Trucy and Apollo. That is why… you'll have to become ones of my kinds. We'll live our everlasting fate… together."

…

An unexpected sound woke her up. How unfortunate, she was having a fun dream, but the loud sound made her forget about it already. How usual. Trucy grumbled, sitting comfortably on her bed and she sighed. Somehow, she couldn't feel the slumber coming anymore, so she might as well go out from her bedroom and get something to eat in the kitchen.

When she opened the door, leading her to the living room, she froze upon discovering the scene.

She couldn't take her eyes away from the massive amount of blood streaming out of her brother's neck. Apollo's eyes appeared lifeless, but he was still heavily breathing, clutching against the floor. His hand was trying to reach her and his faint voice was attempting to tell her to leave this place immediately.

But of course, she couldn't understand what exactly was happening.

Trucy wanted to scream, but no voice came out of her throat.

When she finally drew her concern away from her dear wounded brother, she saw him, their savior, with blood flowing out from his mouth. He was smiling, once again.

"Trucy," the man tenderly called. "You're coming too."

* * *

Date: ?  
Place: ?

Wait, where was he?

The place was so dark and there was an eerie silence floating in the cold air. He couldn't even make out the room where he was. Even in the complete darkness, he could feel his view was still unclear to his eyes, just like he was seeing those odd floating green and blue illusions around him. Was it a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom?

Well he appeared to be sitting on a quite comfortable bed at least, so he must be in a bedroom, right?

Nearly giving up, he let himself fall back onto the bed in a cross pose, trying to comfort the awful headache that felt like imploding inside his skull like incessant slow techno beats. Oh, right. He remembered the last evening events. In fact, he was having a nice drink with his good old friend Kristoph Gavin in an old Russian restaurant, except Gavin wasn't having anything to drink or to eat. He didn't even eat the peanuts that were given to them for free!

He reminded himself of few pleasant words he was exchanging with his friend back there…

"_I still can't believe you're out of the law, Gavin! You were such a successful defense attorney!"_

_However, Kristoph merely gave away a small laugh to these words. "I've got my reasons, Malone," the blond man answered. "Aside, the law has been too much corrupted for my taste lately."_

_Before Davon Malone replied to his friend, he took a sip of his shooter drink. He let out a quick breath with a slight grimace. The exotic drink might have been a little too strong for his palate. "You never change," Davon expressed, still giving in and out few smaller panting before he continued. "You were always aiming for the truth instead of victories."_

_To this, Kristoph looked up to the ceiling, thoughtful of his choice of life. "That's right, though the money I gained from my old career is something I definitely miss in these days."_

Of course, Davon has never told Kristoph about the Gramarye's legacy he "inherited" when the magician family disappeared. Being the notary for that famous family had been one of his better decisions in his life. He managed to sell the family manor and their riches to people, and now he'll live a quite comfortable life for at least twenty more years. Even though that action had led to the fall of their two true heirs, what could he do about it anyway? No one ever thought of him since he was a young kid, even his own family, so why should he care about two little rich brats?

Oh, now he also remembered something else. When he put his palm on his sweating temple, maybe he thought he had drunken a little too much last night. Being the kindhearted young man he was, Kristoph had offered him to stay in his home for the night. Unfortunately, Davon did not remember the minutes that followed when his friend drove him on his way home, and he could even less remember when he had been placed on the bed. Oh well, that was the bad part of being a heavy drunker.

Blindly, he scrutinized the wall to find some light with his hands, but instead, he found some thick curtains with a bright light behind it. Hiding behind was a window with a perky morning sun. So it was a radiant sunny day outside! How convenient! The walk toward home won't be too much bothersome!

Determined to lighten the room, he opened the curtains. Before he could even take a heavy relieving breath to welcome the sun with open arms, quick and short shrieks were suddenly heard in the room, causing him to jump from the fright. Nervously, he turned around to find the source of the voices, and like he was being haunted by ghosts, his heart fastened like a lightning bolt when he found two young children clutching against each other in the opposite corner of the room.

Both children, a young boy and a little girl, were giving their piercing glares at him, arms around each other. They were trembling together. He could see the fear in their eyes, but somehow, there was a creepy darkness lurking around them. However, what stood out from them was not their presence alone, but the clearly visible red, bloodied dried stains that surrounded them on their body, face and clothes. Some smudges had even found their ways on the walls and the floor, though they weren't fresh. Thankfully, the kids didn't appear to be wounded.

Davon shuddered along them now, but he was the adult in the room. He had to take up the courage to speak to them. "W-What are you two doing here?" Davon loudly muttered to them.

However, a complete silence from them welcomed his question. Upon giving a more careful examination on the kids, he gasped with a realization. He recognized them.

"N-No…" the man anxiously started, horrified to see them back in his life. "Y-You are… the little Gramarye brats…"

That was when the older child he remembered as Apollo Justice furrowed his brows with a now furious glare at him. It appeared the boy also recognized him, but he would still remained silent. He kept having his little sister against him, arms firmly wrapped around her as a way to protect her from him, it seemed. Trucy Enigmar, was it?

Even though everything appeared so unusual all around him, he decided to simply ignore the kids and went back to the slightly slid curtains. He wanted to bring more light in the room so he pushed them aside.

His act prompted little Apollo to finally say something with a freezing, lifeless voice.

"… Close… the curtains…"

Davon protested against the boy. "What? No way, kiddo! I need to see the light in the room or I-"

"Close the curtains."

Apollo's tone sounded a little livelier this time, but it still gave the man quivers to his spine. Davon won't lose himself to a child! "Goddamnit!" the man cursed with an obvious anger. "Just shut the hell u-"

"**CLOSE THE CURTAINS!**"

...

Not only the boy's very loud scream hurt his ears, but that wasn't the most frightening part of this.

There was a quiet bestial growl that came along and after the shout. Soon enough, another growl followed along, and this time, it came from the little girl. Davon could clearly see them now…

…the pointy long fangs on the children as they both gritted their teeth like two ominous untamed predators.

Both were giving him a sharp and bright stare like they could attack him as soon as the man had his eyes turned away from them.

Life had crumbled before Davon. The man sensed the terror rushing through his veins when he instinctively persisted on glaring at the growling kids. Did… Kristoph really put him in this room with two children newly reborn into these creatures of the night? No! That was impossible! Kristoph was his old friend! Also, why would two vampire kids make their way to this home? Maybe… the kids were the one who put him in here! Maybe they ate Kristoph already, which explained the dried blood on them! No way… no way!

Kristoph must be alive! He was probably somewhere in the house, so he better called him while the wild kids were still tame in their corner. Upon further observation, they appeared to be stuck there since the sun rays from the slightly open curtains restrained them. Of course, they didn't want to get burned alive by the light, which explained the reason of their stillness.

Wishing for a miracle to come for his help, he went to the door. However, it was locked tight. In an anxious attempt, Davon started banging at the door with his fists. "Gavin! Open the door!" the man urgently called, convinced someone will at least come for him.

Another silence followed his call. Now his hopes were disappearing in the thin air like a dissipating smoke. If he had to get out of this room unarmed, he had to break the door! Like an athlete, he took a great run-up before he threw his entire body on it. Yet, the door wouldn't even budge a millimeter. Something heavy appeared to be standing behind it! Now desperate tears were appearing on the man's eyes.

"Kristoph Gavin, darnit!" Davon called with what sounded like childish sobs. "D-Don't leave me with these b-bastard vampire kids!"

Surprisingly, his despairing calls were finally answered from the other side of the door. Yet, this wasn't the answer he had anticipated for, though it indeed came from his old "friend".

_Apollo, Trucy, you hear me, right?_

"Gavin!" Davon frantically cried, trying to get his attention again by aggressively knocking the door with his palms.

_You don't need to fight the hunger and your instincts. This is the only way to keep your sanity._

"W-What?" was the only thing Davon could let out.

_That's why I'm offering this meal for you to enjoy. Satisfy your hunger and I'll let you out. You'll thank me later, I assure you._

"Gavin, you're insane…" the terrified man murmured, his hands clutching against the door handle and his fingers having a hard time holding it. He decided to turn back to the obscure children, struggling to convince them how wrong his friend was. "D-D-Don't listen to that man, kids!"

A small sarcastic chuckle was heard behind the door.

_Never trust a… human, because you are no longer part of them. All they will do when they will find you both is to sell your corpses as their hunted primes. Never trust anyone else for the matter. Even the ones of our kinds will kill each other just to get the best prey._

_Instead, I'm asking you to trust me, because we are a family, right? That's why I brought you this… puny, delicious human that stole everything from you. You deserve your sweet revenge with a… gratified stomach._

_Enjoy your meal, Trucy and Apollo._

He couldn't believe it. There he was, stuck in this dim lit room with two confused vampire children who could jump on him at any time to devour him. How did this happen to him? And now the saying that "it always happens to others" crumbled before his very being. It had happened to him, damnit!

Starting to feel his sanity leaving away from him, he slowly fell on his knees, leaning against his palms, and bigger tears were now flowing across his face. He didn't want to end his life here! He still had so much to do in his life! He didn't even reach his forties yet! And worse, he was going to get proposed very soon by the most beautiful woman he had ever met! The timing of this couldn't have been more wrong than it already was!

Despite the loud sobbing he was letting out in despair, he strangely heard more shy weeps behind. He turned to the sound, and nearly struck with pity, he noticed more tears shining through the eyes of the two children, each trying to find comfort from the other.

From the way they were acting, it appeared they still refused to get a taste of his blood. So they were probably new to this bloodied business, still virgin from their primal instincts that hadn't took over their humanity yet, after all. They seemed to be holding their hunger under control the best they could.

All this chaos must be Gavin's fault…

Maybe, just maybe… if Gavin was the cause of their doom, the children might help him get away from the mess, thus saving all of them!

He'll never know unless he tried.

"D-Do you k-kids… want to get out of this m-m-mess too?" Davon asked them, his trembling lips having a hard time forming the words properly.

As expected, no answer. So, that was it, everything will end here in this stinking dark room. Furious of his fate, he grunted at nothing in particular, his teeth were clenching in resentment from these late occurrences. What… did he do to deserve this? No one deserved to be eaten like that!

With a sudden rage, Davon's fists were continuously pummeling the door, imagining himself like he hit the man who put him in here, because that was exactly what Gavin deserved! He kept going and going, until his hands were failing with the lack of energy he had wasted so much into this useless move. Well, at least it felt good…

…until he heard the panting sounds.

Were they… from the children?

All of a sudden, he discerned something cold on the rugged skin of his hands. Upon looking back at them, he noticed the terrifying sight of the blood from his newly open wounds caused by his rage.

The kids were smelling blood, his _own_ blood. And somehow, the struggle against their own instincts was starting to vanish from their remaining humanity.

_Ah, the sweet aroma of blood. How pleasant this feels in our nostrils._

In a fearsome way, Gavin's _sweet_ and _pleasant_ words along the wonderful smell of the escaping red fluid from the sole human left the reborn children in a state of confusion, denial and… an _enjoyable_ trance. This triggered them to slightly make their advance toward their trembling scrawny prey. However, the bright sun ray blocking their path caused the older boy to yelp with a painful roar when his skin reached the light. The child quickly backed away from the burning rays, returning in the corner like a scared animal with his crying little sister, back in their now cherished darkness.

Suddenly, this gave Davon an idea. Maybe there was a hope for him to get out of this chaos!

Going with his initial idea, he swiftly ran to the curtains and fully opened them wide, prompting the children to scream at the sun rays that were coming for them like a vicious murderer. So this was working! The little vampires were going to burn in hell while he'll run out free like the wind! Such a simple plan, why didn't he even think about it before?

To his dismay, however, even with the room fully shining, none of the sun rays reached the little devils in their corner. Yet, Davon could see the dread in their terrified glares.

No, he'll never let the pity for them take over him again! The more he'll wait, the more the kids' hunger and instincts will win over their remaining humanity. It was either them… or him…

They had to die…

Controlled by the critical fear, in an utter wrath, Davon gripped the smaller child by surprise between his firm hands and fiercely dragged her directly under the light. Under the deadly burning rays, a loud, strident screech abruptly emerged from the girl, a throbbing yell piercing the man's ears like nails rubbing against a chalkboard.

"**LEAVE TRUCE ALONE!**"

Davon didn't even have the time to turn back to the boy after he yelled those words that he sensed something swiftly bouncing on his back with a sudden, intense pain following. He could feel them perfectly.

Fangs deeply piercing in his neck from the back.

Davon screamed and screamed, releasing the girl from his control and aimlessly trying to fight back to reach the boy behind him instead, but it was no use. Quickly but agonizingly, his strength was leaving him, his views were clouding around him and his ears couldn't pick any clear noises anymore as his life was being swallowed into the newly corrupted boy's spirit.

That was the end for Davon Malone.

Despite sluggishly losing the awareness of his surrounding, he could sense being pulled back into the darkness, where the young boy was savoring his soul in the most delectable manner. Soon, another pain reached one of his wrists where he could see the form of the smaller girl joining her big brother in this delightful feast.

It was their first taste for blood.

They enjoyed it, and they wanted more.

Even when a newcomer came into the room, proudly watching the children as they were devouring the last of the human's life, Apollo and Trucy wouldn't move away from their prey, not even a little. As the blood filled their hungry stomach and stained their now impure face, they will enjoy their meal until the life will be no more from it. Their innocence had now been shattered by their everlasting darkness that will forever condition on their moves and new primitive instincts.

A darkness in which Kristoph Gavin was now part of. Their new eternal family.

The children's savior proudly smiled at them before he turned his attention on the mere prey.

"Davon Malone," the tall blond man softly called the dying human.

"… G… Ga… vin…"

"You get what you deserve from the two children you ruined. Because of your twisted actions, they are now reborn into something better, enjoying the very last of your bitter, yet delicious soul."

"Good bye, Davon."

The End

* * *

_**Author's note**__: Silly, I know. Also, I was going to write more but I'll just leave the rest to readers' imagination. Dunno, maybe they'll finally meet their mother in that state and they'll live happily forever. Or they'll be Kristoph's pawns forever. Maybe they'll finally meet Polly's daddy (after all, they have an eternity to meet each other). Or maybe Metis's meds are made public either way and they'll be free of their instincts. Could be anything, really._

_If people don't remember who __**Davon Malone**__ was, he's the evil OC in chapter 2, the notary lawyer who stole the Gramarye's legacy from Polly and Truce. Yeah, all my OCs are evil._


	28. Alternate Ending: A Reunited Family

_Another bad ending idea that you don't have to read. Call me creepy and cheesy. This is the alternate ending for chapter 23, and I swear my last one. I'd say this one's more dramatic than anything else, and also __**extremely depressing**__. But there's an extra in the end._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them._

**Alternate Ending: A Reunited Family**

Date: January 3rd 2028, 11:19 PM  
Place: Eagle Mountain, Inner Temple

"Apollo," the cold, fatherly voice spoke out. "Are you… letting her go? After all we've done to get her back? And there I thought giving you the honor to make your dear little sister part of us would please you…"

A faint empty sound left Apollo's lips when the wicked father finished his words.

"Y… Yes… Daddy… You're r… right…"

Upon watching him making that hollow call, Trucy was suddenly terrified of her brother. He was not acting himself anymore. That was when she heard the plea from the nearly forgotten Clay, still struggling against his captor.

"TRUCY!" Clay agitatedly screamed out. "GET O-"

Clay was unable to finish his sentence when his face was being violently pressed back against the icing ground by Eros's steady hands. A dark smirk appeared on the father like he was unusually having fun doing his brutal move on his former protégé. "Clay, you speak too much," the young man murmured with a low growl, mocking the former astronaut before he returned his focus on his son. "Apollo, your beloved sister's just over there. Go get her."

Trucy froze. She could see them too, these cold, empty piercing eyes on her soulless brother. Unable to move away from his sight, tears were starting to cloud her view around, crushed by her futility over his fate. What could she do to help Apollo? He had already lost his fight because his wicked father will always have the upper hand over him as long as he lived.

Then it happened. After she closed her watering eyes, she felt something pinning her hard to the ground. She left out a sudden yelp from the pain, still refusing to open her lids because she knew exactly who was on the top of her. No, she won't look at him going after her flesh, because… he wasn't himself anymore. The hollow shell left no hesitation as he went for her bare skin, straight to her soft, sweet smelling neck faintly stained of her delicious looking red fluid.

She felt them, the immense agony of the teeth piercing inside her and two cutting long fangs going deep in her bloodied throat.

Trucy was lost too, now…

A desperate cry behind them echoed through the cavern, his voice fading close to nothingness when all fell into darkness. Clay's struggles momentary stopped when all hope was slowly vanishing away in the thin air. "Nooo… A-Apollo damnit… Trucy…"

Yet, despite all, one was still smiling; the mastermind behind everything gave away a dark, satisfying chuckle. "We… finally did it, Pollo. Good job!"

When the bloodied spawn heard his old man behind, life seemed to have abruptly come back to him. His eyes opened wide when he realized his mouth was still fully absorbing his sister's remaining life, the little girl suffering and crying under his grips. He had done it. He had hurt his beloved sibling. He had broken the promise he made to her. He left his lids firmly shut since he couldn't bear to watch what terrible mischief he had done, but he could already feel a part of the outcome from his deed inside him.

Oh, the sweet, delightful blood of his family running wild into his taste buds as Apollo nearly enter into a trance state, falling back into the abyss of his own instincts.

Yet, getting back to his sense like a sudden buzz hitting his veins, he quickly shook his head between his palms aimlessly, tossing these primitive thoughts away. No, he won't enjoy this! He couldn't!

Again, whenever he enjoyed taking part of this sickening feat or not, he had just cursed Trucy… with the same everlasting fate.

How could he have… accomplished this?

"N-No… please… Trucy… don't tell me… I-I did…"

When Apollo gathered all the courage just to get his sight back at her, he shivered from the horrid spectacle that welcomed him. A tear shined from an eye. There he was, watching his dear injured little sister on the soil. Her hands were set on her bloodied neck wound as she gave away dying breaths with few extraordinarily comforting moans with each escaping exhalation. Trucy finally glanced back at her brother, her lids struggling to stay open. Strangely enough, watching him calmed her a little even after knowing what he had done to her.

Entering into an absolute despair, Apollo sadly clenched his head between his two hands even harder, nearly trying to crush himself from the awareness of his shameful move, the move that had already sealed his family's fate. He let out relentless sobs before he went closer to Trucy, leaning on his shaking fists, freeing the tears that fell down on his hardened cheeks. "I-I-I'm sorry… Truce… Please… Forgive me…!" Apollo muttered with a shaking voice.

"Don't be sorry, son," the heartless, yet softer Eros's tone spoke. Deliberately, Apollo turned his head to face the devil behind who had just released under his grip his beaten raven-haired friend Clay. The will to continue this fight had finally left the former space boy too when he saw the wounded girl laying on the ground. Now that everything was lost, Clay knew it was futile to try to change things. He felt so useless, so hopeless he couldn't get back on his feet.

"You just made the right choice to make her a better person," the father persisted with a broader smile. Somehow, this cold revelation mysteriously soothed Apollo's infamy.

The silence filled the air until a long, garish groan broke the peace. The loss of faith within Apollo was now replaced by a furious rage that grew wider. Everyone turned to the older brother as his breaths became louder and louder, soon mixed with infuriating growls. "N... No… Eros…" he murmured with his piercing glare intensifying with a frightening fury toward his father.

A shock overtook Eros when he heard the name. "W-What?!" the devil gasped. "Did you just call me by m-"

An unexpected powerful attack on his face interrupted him when his son made a bounce on him to brutally pin him against the ground. From the top of him, Apollo's fists were finding their way on Eros's head as they endlessly hit him so hard bruises and blood emerged all over his face.

"N-No! Y-You… You goddamn son of a bitch…!" Apollo desperately cried as he went on with his ceaseless, ruthless move.

However, soon, his arms were starting to weaken, and then his limps fell down along his head. At the same time, a smile appeared on the father's expression despite all the blood that was profusely sullying around his face. There was a pure evil emanating from the beaten old boy. "H… How dare you, son?" Eros mockingly started, gently wiping the blood away from his face at the same time. "How did you know your grandmother was a bitch?"

Another awkward silence reigned over. Unable to move, miserably watching as the darkness engulf the atmosphere, everyone had their sight turned away from each other. Eros was the only one who stood back on his feet, leisurely walking around with a proud eye on all the fallen ones surrounding him. He was curiously looking over the small gun he had stolen from Clay during their struggle earlier.

Without hesitation, he pointed the weapon toward the young black haired man and shot, leaving no time for a surprised reaction. After letting out a loud cry from the dart that reached his shoulder, Clay made a low jump with his arms before he immediately fell again, unable to get up. A sudden dizziness overtook the young vampire when he realized that was the weapon he was going to use on his friend, but instead, Clay became its new target.

Trucy looked at her astronaut friend from afar, dejectedly cursing herself in silence when she realized all of this was her own fault. She should have stayed in the village with Mr. Wright, Athena, Pearl and everyone there. Perhaps then, the entire plan would have gone smoothly. Unfortunately, her emotions were too strong to hold the sadness over her missing brother. If only she had been a tougher sister…

Apollo did not react to anything about everything anymore. How could he? He was obviously under the spell of his father, again.

A little chuckle came from Eros before he returned his concern on the former astronaut. "Clay, that's what you get for siding with the humans," the young father mocked with a grin, tossing the little gun away from everyone. "I have no idea how you were able to resist your natural instincts, but it will be sad to part ways like that. Pollo and little Trucy will need their dear friend."

Clay struggled to keep his eyes open, but soon, the weight of the air wouldn't let him move any longer. "N-No…" he muttered before his lids completely shut. His consciousness slowly left him in a deep slumber.

* * *

Date: January 4th 2028, 12:02 AM  
Place: Eagle Mountain, Bridge

His heartbeat was pumping hard as he rushed with his snowmobile across this field of snow until he hit the temple area of the mountain. When he spotted the cliff and the familiar suspended bridge in the horizon, Phoenix struggled to stop his vehicle. Fortunately, he managed to find the breaks in time before he caught up to the border. Leaving a big relieving sigh, the man dashed toward the bridge where he found the traces of the steps in the snow still fresh despite the storm that had now died down. When he noticed the trails were going to the opposite direction he was facing, a worry struck him in the back.

Did Trucy and all the others go to the other way?

Sluggishly, with his two closed fists, braving his fear of heights, he crossed the suspended bridge. When he reached the other side, he went after the traces again, only to find the inner temple empty of human and vampire presence. However, something was standing out in the surrounding.

A small pond of blood with a red trail going through the exit of the temple.

From the fresh smell, everything occurred no more than an hour ago…

How could that be? If only he had been here few hours earlier… What happened to Trucy? What happened to Clay? What happened to Apollo? Was that… Trucy's blood?

No, as long as there was no proof of the owner of the blood, it couldn't belong to any of them, and especially not Trucy, the poor girl!

He returned to the other side of the bridge, and this time, he tossed away his fear without looking below his feet when he crossed the thing. He noticed the trail left by another snowmobile going toward the forest area and decided to follow it.

To his dismay, soon he reached a dead end when he discovered the stationed snowmobile where the snow was no more, empty of riders and passengers. As expected, though he had hoped not, he found more trace of blood on the seat.

Phoenix lost no time. He immediately called the police for help.

Unfortunately, the police were only able to arrive on the spot in the following morning due to the place being so remote from the civilization. Few sniffing dogs took part of the investigation and few forensic scientists were present as requested by Phoenix.

When he learned the final result from the DNA tests on the blood found on the seat, he froze for a minute. It was like everything had crumbled before him. Falling on his knees, he closed his eyes, landing his hands on them before he began few barely audible sobs.

It was Trucy's blood.

Later, it was confirmed the blood found in the inner temple was also hers.

This could only mean one thing: Trucy was lost too, so was Apollo. And since he got no news from Clay, there was a clear possibility he too was lost somewhere along.

Did… the father cause all this? Did he lose… everyone?

"This is truly an unfortunate event, Mr. Wright," a policeman came to tell him. "The probability to find the girl alive or still human is very close to zero percent. Even the dogs can't follow her scent anymore."

In a desperate way, Phoenix firmly grabbed the police's shoulders, shaking him and clenching his teeth hard from the panic. "N-No, there must be a way!" the lawyer mumbled loudly. "There must be! There's still no concrete proof that she has been bitten by these vampires!"

Sadly, the policeman looked to the ground on the side. "The forensic scientists also found traces of saliva in the blood pool in the temple. They were able to confirm it belonged to her lost brother whom we've been told have been changed into a vampire… I'm sorry, there's no hope… We can still keep searching for her, but… if she's still alive, then she's probably… one of them now… If she's found, we'll have no choice but to end her life."

"Y-You can't do that…" Phoenix sobbed. "Even if… she's part of them, there's hope!"

The policeman raised an eyebrow at him. How could there still be… hope after one had been bitten?

* * *

Date: January 4th 2028, 9:51 AM  
Place: Kurain Village, Side Room

The room had been struck by silence since her boss had gone to the mountain. Athena sighed to the sound of the morning birds that seemed to be particularly noisy in these parts closer to the natural world. Mystic Maya, who had stayed with her the entire night, laughed when her friend's young protégée started to cover her ears to the soothing singings from the feathered creatures. Maya knew of Athena's super hearing and she was glad her own family power wasn't as bothersome as this girl's genetic talent.

"Have you managed to sleep?" Maya asked with a yawn. She hadn't slept much in reality and she felt drowsier than ever.

Upon receiving the question, Athena gave a tired glare at the master. Dark bags were her new obvious feature this morning. "Actually, I haven't slept at all…" the young lawyer replied, leaving out a contagious yawn too. "I've been thinking too much about the boss and the others…"

The master gave away a comforting glance on the young girl before she offered a friendly pat on the shoulders. "Hey, it's going to be all right!" Maya exclaimed with an enchanting tone. "I trust Nick! Everyone's always going to be saved when he's around! Even when there's no hope left, he'll always find his way to get out of the mess and find solutions!"

Athena's sight soon shifted with more confident eyes. Mystic Maya might be right on this. "You must have known the boss much longer that I did," the attorney revealed with a little smile. "You had exciting cases and adventures with him, I guess."

"Of course! Nick's always here to save our days!" the medium joyfully added. "He had saved me countless times and many others! You could almost say I was her damsel in distress during his old law career! Well, this isn't something to brag about, but I'm just telling this because when you live around Nick, good stuff are always bound to happen!"

"I really hope… you're right…" Athena expressed more wistfully. She had her eyes to the floor, not really wanting to look up. She was so much worried about Trucy. She was already utterly overwhelmed from the recent events, and she felt like who should know the most about it. Staying close to Trucy for nearly three weeks straight and observing the evolution of her misery stages had prompted her to see the young magician like a little sister. If she was to lose her too, she didn't know how she'll live the grief. She didn't really want to suffer the same grief when she lost her mother too.

Right at this moment, the sliding door of the room opened, revealing behind it the silhouette of a distressed-looking man. Both Maya and Athena's heartbeats skipped at a faster pace upon seeing a worn-out Phoenix. He didn't look happy, at all.

And this probably meant bad news.

"Girls…" the man barely murmured, almost soundless to them, even to Athena. There were traces of dry tears under his eyes.

Speechless, Athena was unable to mutter a word. She could clearly hear the discord in her boss's voice. Maya did the speaking instead, looking concerned. "Nick? What happened? Where are your kids?"

Instead of entering the room, Phoenix only leaned a hand against the top of the door frame, his back slightly crouched forward. The man was giving in and out exhausted breaths. He was hesitant to speak, yet he had no choice but to tell them the disastrous news. It was either later, or now.

"Forgive me, Athena. My plan has… failed. Trucy's lost with them now…"

It took about twenty seconds before a sob escaped the younger attorney.

Athena officially lost a part of her family, once again.

* * *

Date: ?  
Place: ?

So dark and humid…

She woke up to the nasty moist air that filled her nostrils like a pure vapor from a boiling filthy water. The place where she was felt so hot like a sauna she could sense her cloths completely soaked with her own sweat. How uncomfortable! Where was she? It was so dark, yet she could distinguish everything in this small room, from the tiny, unmemorable stones to the small bugs crawling on the rocky walls. This must be some sort of natural cavern…

Something was peculiar around her. Wait a minute, she noticed _everything_ around her and there were so many new smells emanating from the place. These scents somehow managed to wake up some of her new senses wild, and this initiated her stomach to growl with a vivid hunger.

A particular smell felt familiar: it was _blood_.

Blood caused her to be _hungry_.

That was when she realized everything that had happened earlier… The events in the temple, the hostage situation and her brother's bite… No, that couldn't be…

While she could see everything surrounding her, she refused to open her eyelids again out of fear. This couldn't be real! She must be dreaming! She must be in an imaginary nightmare and now she only needed to wake up from her sleep to rid of that darkness! However, she couldn't lie to herself against these ropes that were restraining her on the wet ground as she struggled against them. Her wrists were attached behind her back and her legs were solidly bound together with more ropes. She also felt a piece of cloth inserted into her mouth that she couldn't throw out by herself since a long scarf was going around her entire jaw. She attempted to scream, but only a faint muffled murmur was able to escape her throat.

Well, what was the use to struggle, anyway? She couldn't move herself from her space. Aside, it appeared… she had finally become one of them too.

A stream of tears started flowing out from her sight, blurring her view around. Her most dreaded nightmare was no longer a simple part of her imagination… it became reality.

_Trucy-dear, what's the matter?_

How strange, she had perceived the sound of someone moving around here since she had woken up. However, it was only now she truly noticed their presence, too much busy trying to use her new enhanced senses. But that voice, that familiar voice… so similar to her dearest brother, yet so different with their manner of speech. She knew it was… her so-called stepfather.

Trucy _growled_ at his disgusting voice.

When she realized her animalistic move, she instantly shut herself and her eyes widened with a startling awareness: her new instincts were starting to take over too.

Unfortunately, she was unable to avoid the stare the young man was giving her as he slowly approached the girl. The sweet, apprehensive face the dark spawn was expressing before her nearly provoked her to vomit from the complete repugnance. "Hey, don't worry, girl!" Eros gently exclaimed like she was a young scared child. "You know, you're my stepdaughter and you deserve the same love I give to my son!"

Trucy suddenly choked into more loud weeps. How repulsive the experience was to be charmingly spoken by this demon whose actions had only brought suffering all around. Eros's words felt so dark, yet so sincere. After leaving a long sigh, a kind smile made its way on the boy's lips. "Unfortunately we're not related by blood, but it doesn't matter much," the young man revealed. "We're still a family and there won't be any need to control you to make you part of us."

Someway, this sentence gave her a slight relief. It was true, Eros was nowhere blood-related to her, but the manner he said these words and the way his smile stayed plastered on his face… It was like Trucy was already going to lose the fight for sure, or rather she will be welcoming her rebirth into an eternal night spawn with open arms. A fright appeared on her expression. Of course, the old boy noticed it.

Pleased, Eros's smile was now turning into a wider grin when he revealed his pointy fangs at her, leaving out a low growl along with a visible satisfaction over the situation. "And don't worry about your brother and his friend," the father started. "Pollo told me everything. Without his meds, Clay will eventually come back to us so we threw his pills away. About Apollo, he went to search for humans. He should come back with something to eat soon. We should be proud of him; his talent for hunting has greatly improved lately!"

Apollo… searching for… humans?

No, Polly couldn't be hunting… for preys to eat?

This sent Trucy shivers down her spine at the thought of imagining her own cherished brother preying on humans. She shut her lids, freeing more tears from her eyes as they streamed across her cheeks. She managed to turn her sight away from her sickening captor, only to face her friend Clay who had been behind her the entire time, bent and bound in the same manner as she was. His bright blue pupils were directly staring at her with extreme misery.

It appeared Clay didn't want to return in this world of darkness Eros valued so much.

Trucy wished to speak with Clay so much right now, and it seemed Clay wished the same. Unfortunately, with their mouths covered, no words could be exchanged at all. Why did Eros prevent them from using one of the main human aptitudes to that will possibly allow them to cling onto their humanity longer? Wait a second... She just answered her own question… Without spoken words, neither she nor Clay will ever be able to remind Apollo, the only one who could possibly save them from that disgusting devil right now, of the ways to go back living among humans. Yes, just like with their old lives, where they lived their normal days, their dreams…

Without words, their pleasant memories will be lost, so was their only way to return to their old lives.

She then remembered Clay's reveal about the chilling changes each new vampire have to go through…

_I wish it was that easy. You know, Trucy, I admit, when I… was changing, I thought I'd be able to control myself, to keep my mind away from the metamorphosis, but… the change we undergo after being bitten is not only focused on physical change. Unfortunately, the transformation affects… our soul and instincts too. In the end, the hunger for blood wins, and we are nothing more than… inhuman predators._

_Even after our hunger is quenched, we still crave… for more, and we see humans like nothing more than lowly preys. Our hunger is so strong it makes us forget about many things, like our old dreams, our goals. In this case, we totally forgot about Metis's meds because it doesn't matter to us anymore. When the hunger controls us, we even forget about people._

So, was she going to forget about her own dreams too? Because right now, she was realizing her hunger was causing her mind to start throwing away some old recalls too. She struggled to keep them intact, but it was… impossible.

"Both of you are still not ready for your meal, but it's all right. You'll have the part of the flesh too eventually," Eros added with his same grin as he slowly licked his fangs. "When you'll taste blood for the first time, I assure you that you'll find the taste so good you'll completely forget about your boring human life. Your insignificant past will disappear from your mind but you won't ever need them anyway. You'll be grateful for it."

No! Eros couldn't be right! She won't give up her humanity like that! Not like this!

But the faint fragrance of blood was still sending her exciting shudders to her sensitive nostrils, a delicious smell… What will happen when… a real living prey will be brought closer to her?

She'll probably know soon, and she was absolutely terrified about the idea.

* * *

A sound woke her from the profound torpor. How deceiving, for once, she was able to flee the reality that had taken over her new dark life, but alas, great dreams were always so ephemeral, weren't they?

Yet, her real nightmare will probably last for more than an eternity…

When Trucy opened her eyes, she was able to make out two new humanoid forms as her views cleared all around, revealing a relieving sight. Behind her accursed scarf, an invisible smile showed up.

Apollo was back!

However, something else suddenly detracted her attention away from him, and when she realized what exactly caused her focus to wander around, she froze of panic.

A powerful perfume was sending her in a small state of trance. It was… the scent of blood, and this time, the aroma was more than fresh. It was close to her, very close.

Right there, in Apollo's hands, a beaten bloodied woman was hanging by her long hair.

…

_No, Polly, you couldn't have done that... Not you… Not you! Where is your former sense of justice?!_

The woman was arduously gasping, trying to struggle against the one who was holding her captive, pleading him to leave her alone. She was crying, trembling, sobbing, but Apollo wouldn't hear anything. What was the use to listen a human complain, anyway? They were mere preys to be devoured soon like a dead fresh chicken was to a human.

Even Trucy had a hard time listening what the woman was pleading out loud… The smell of blood was affecting her thoughts so much she quivered in her corner, nearly wishing to get a taste of it, but… No! She had to get ahold of herself! If her tongue ever reached for that… seemingly _succulent_ red fresh juice, she'll be lost in her instincts, forever!

"You've caught a nice one, son!" Eros exclaimed, giving an amicable pat on Apollo's back.

Like a simple trash, Apollo threw the woman on the ground, close to his own sister. Upon having eye contact with the beaten, bloodied human victim, Trucy drowned into tears, and the woman did the same.

"Should we share it with Clay and Truce?" Apollo added, impartially looking at both his sister and his best friend on the ground.

Apollo's words produced cold goosebumps all over Clay and Trucy's skin. The young man's question was like the human girl was not even a sentient being but a mere food with no need for feelings and emotions.

The woman was not even a she, but an "_it_".

"Nan, not now," Eros replied, bringing one arm from the human closer to his hungry lips. Soon he gave a delighted grin over the two captive humane vampires in the corner. "Let's give them few more days. There's still too much human in them right now."

A smile emerged on Apollo's expression from his father's observation. "Ah, you're right, I don't think Clay's meds have completely worn out," the older brother coldly stated.

When more tears escaped Trucy's lids when she listened to their emotionless chat, she firmly shut her eyes, refusing to witness the barbaric move her brother and his father were going to perform. Nevertheless, when the loud, painful scream of the woman resonated through her sensitive ears like a loud irritating music that wouldn't stop, extraordinarily, the only sense that was intensely functioning was her smelling sense. Once again, the pleasing aroma of the blood was putting her in another dreaming state like she was enjoying the thrill of the feast herself. Like a horrific nightmare, even the very annoying human cries went deaf to her.

So she was unwillingly really letting the darkness and instincts taking over her shattered soul, even with her fruitless efforts to keep her humanity. Did Apollo and Clay really go through this before she did? Was that really what every single vampires must endure before losing their minds forever, just like her friend told her?

No wonder they couldn't prevent the fading of their humane selves, because it appeared she was unable to do so as well. That fragrance of blood left her with a rousing appetite that wouldn't go away no matter how hard she tried to contain it.

On her sides, the sense of smell was reluctantly starting to come back on Clay. He felt it too: without his medications, very soon, he was going back to the world of darkness with his friend.

He started crying with Trucy.

* * *

Date: ?  
Place: ?

This new evening, upon waking up, Clay completely lost himself to his primitive instincts, once again.

As Trucy was still bound and crouched alone in her corner, she watched her brother and his friend leaving their hidden cavern to the outside in search for new preys together. She had seen it herself, all the chilling stages Clay went through as he struggled to keep the last of his humanity. In the end, his instincts won over when he couldn't control his sanity and his hunger anymore when Apollo offered him his meal. Trucy perfectly perceived it in Clay's eyes: he had entirely enjoyed his feast until the very last drop of life from the screaming prey.

She knew the same will ultimately happen to her.

No matter how many times she tried to get used to that depressing thought of being reborn eventually, thinking it might lessen the impact of her nightmare, she would always cry many tears. How she wished to return to her old life so much…

The devil himself, Eros, stayed by her sides, decidedly ready to welcome her as a new part of his small wild family. Whenever her sight crossed his, she would leave a furious growl at him with her intensifying bright stare that would glow lighter in the dark. Yet, her feral move always prompted a satisfied smile on the older boy.

Taking a deep breath, Eros approached his face closer to her. He gently started a discussion.

"Aren't you happy about joining us, Trucy-dear? You should, because… think about it. Your brother loves you, and you love him. What will happen when the years go by if you have stayed a mere human?"

Eros's statement suddenly stopped her angry growls. When she heard the word "years", a jolt overtook her. But of course, why hadn't she thought about it before?

The young man went on, revealing the exact thoughts Trucy was conceiving right now. "Yes, that's right. You're going to grow older and older while your brother will remain the same young man, forever. One day, you'll die, simple as that, and your brother will be extremely sad if you disappear."

A gloomy, regretful giggle escaped Eros's lips with his next remark before he gave a kind glance on the girl. Soon a melancholic frown followed. "Just… look at what happened to me. I was… only a little older than you when I was… reborn into this. I am to keep the appearance of a young man who had barely reached his full maturity, forever. Don't you find it strange that my son is basically… older than I am? You'd find yourself in a strange situation too if you were to be older than your _big_ brother and even your… traitorous _mother_."

Her mother… a traitor?

This time, Trucy was unable to keep her growls under control. How could Eros treat her mother in such way? He was her husband and her mother never abandoned her children! Wait, no, he wouldn't know. She never came back to her and her brother because of… her curse! But of course, Eros would never understand that. He was too proud of his… changes.

Strangely, Eros growled along Trucy as he looked up to the ceiling, seemingly pensive. "You love your mother, Trucy?" he started, the frown on his face more obvious now. "How can you? Thalassa had abandoned you and your brother. Aside, you were only a small little girl at the time. You shouldn't even remember much of her. She could have stayed with you the same way your Mr. Kristoph Gavin did. But no, she didn't come for you because she's a coward."

Finally, a faint smile came back to him. "Thalassa had abandoned me too. She could have chosen to check on me after I was bitten, but no, she ran away like a coward, with our dear son, no less. She should have come back to shoot me before I was fully reborn, but she was too afraid." To this, Eros took out a small picture from his pocket, revealing a worn out but radiant picture of his former wife, mother of Trucy and Apollo. When a wide, dark grin revealed itself on his lips, he tore the picture in half to throw it away like a trash on the ground. "Trucy, you shouldn't trust cowards like her. Just forget her."

Like a creeper, Eros's fingers tenderly travelled their path to reach Trucy's hair. He gently began playing and fiddling with them as a way to caress the girl with a fond, earnest father to daughter love. Trucy shivered to the contact and more tears left her lids, but she managed a louder, furious snarl at him.

"But don't worry, my dear Trucy. With me, Apollo and Clay, we'll be a family together. We'll help each other. We'll hunt for each other. We won't abandon each other, trust me."

The cold, disgusting physical contact from the man's fingers caused Trucy's anger to grow wider when she started to mindlessly struggle against the ropes that were binding her to her corner. How she wished to tear his guts apart! That was the only thing that damned spawn of hell deserved!

Still, Eros remained unfazed to her struggles. "Give it some times… Your brother went through all of this too, but in the end, he finally accepted me as his rightful father. Maybe you won't see me as a father, but soon, you'll accept me as a part of your loving family too. I guess that's what matters."

In her last attempt to avoid the sight of him, Trucy used up her remaining efforts to turn away. Instead, she gave a look on her familiar rocky corner that appeared more interesting to her in this moment. Please, anything but the image of that sordid man!

When she managed to completely ignore all the noises around her, including the devil himself, she finally fell into a deep slumber. Nothing, not even the sounds of her companions devouring more humans in her back, not even the delectable smell of blood coming out from the preys, will wake her up. If they did, she'll keep on feigning her sleep. Maybe she'll wake up from her eternal nightmare when she'll reopen her eyes. Maybe it was all just a silly dream…

Just… maybe…

* * *

Date: ?  
Place: ?

He woke up to a nightmare.

Changing his hands into fists, Apollo immediately let his palm catching the closest thing that was around him as he jolted away from the dream. Hefty breaths emerged from his mouth as he attempted to regain his composure back into shape. He cursed himself; it was only a nightmare, damnit! No need to feel shaken over silly nightmares, because they weren't real anyway!

Wiping away the sweat drops that were flowing on his forehead, he soon trembled when he looked around. Wait, it was like he was still stuck in this nightmare, with the same foul humid odor around, the same darkness that had captured him in his dream.

He remembered. In his nightmare, he was hunting a human being, as usual. However, the human he was pursuing was a girl, though he was unable to distinguish the physical features on her, despite being typically able to see perfectly well these details, even in the darkness. And when he finally caught the prey and let his pointy fangs do the rest, he saw her frightened face.

Trucy.

That was when he opened his eyes back in the real world. No, what kind of nightmare was that!? There was no way he'd do that to Truce, his dear little sister! He promised he'd never allow her to face the same fateful destiny that had fallen upon him!

That was when he realized the one his hand was clutching after was his own beloved Truce, reborn into the same… revolting creature as him.

And he was the one who did this to her, just like in his nightmare with his broken promise.

Trucy was laying over here before him, her bright blue eyes lifelessly glaring at him. He was unable to feel any kind of emotion emanating from her any longer, like she was… an empty shell devoid of soul, hope and reasons.

He couldn't bear to see her in this condition anymore.

Noticing Eros and Clay were still fully asleep, he used this opportunity to tear out that scarf around her jaw and took off that cloth shoved into her mouth. Like a lighter air around, Trucy gave out incessant heavy gasps with her mouth wide open, unable to seal it for at least ten long minutes. Her tongue hung out toward the ground as the panting sloppily went on, saliva dripping around all sides of her lips. Soon, Apollo meticulously unbound the ropes restraining her. He nearly wailed with disgust when he noticed the dark red bruises around her wrists and her ankles damaged by the continuous rubbing against these solid ropes.

Trucy was unable to move from her spot. Still resting on the floor with long and slow breaths, Apollo quickly tried to find a tidier cloth to clean his sister from the sweat and the saliva around her former tender, innocent face that was now stained with despair and sadness. Instead, he decided to tear his own sleeve apart to use it as a rag to wipe off the mess from her.

When Trucy finally succeeded to shut her lips and looked at her brother again, Apollo collected all his daring to speak first. "… Truce…"

Trying to get used to move her lips in a more coherent manner, Trucy managed few peculiar, but well-spoken syllables. "P-Poo… llyy…"

Unable to contain himself after living in silence from her voice for many straight days despite her constant physical presence, Apollo hurled Trucy over him to wrap his arms around her. He did not expect her to do the same, however. He quivered as he gripped onto her furthermore, caringly giving her some soft cuddles on her hair. "I-I-I'm sorry… Truce… I… didn't mean to d-do this…" Apollo admitted with a recognizable remorse in his voice.

Extraordinarily, a fragile smile turned upon Trucy's lips. "D… Don't be…" she weakly expressed. "At least we're… together o-once again…"

Apollo's eyes shifted with a slightly horrified expression. Was Trucy… accepting her fate already? "Yes, but… but I broke… my promise…" the older brother shamefully revealed.

That was when a frail, dark giggle came out from the little sister's mouth. "The… promise? O… Over a silly nightmare?" the little sister softly began, barely revealing her fangs at the same time. "No, Polly, you didn't break anything… You just… brought me closer to my family…"

A worried frown formed on Apollo's brows. No, that didn't sound like Trucy at all…

"T-Trucy?" Apollo called, this time with a more terrified tone.

"It's fine…" Trucy interrupted with a livelier attitude. "We're a reunited family, forever. I'm glad you did this to me, because if I stayed human, eventually I'll die, and you'll miss me again."

A silence followed. None of the two exchanged words until more weak panting sounds were suddenly heard.

These came from Trucy.

"… I'm so… hungry…"

"… Huh?" Apollo innocently murmured to her.

Trucy's words were becoming a little more ferocious as she went on, her voice still struggling to get louder. "I'm hungry, Polly. Bring me… something to… eat…"

"Truce…?"

A dim growl interjected into the older brother's calling. Slightly disturbed, Apollo backed away from his little sister when he examined her as she gave a slow lick on her fangs with a devilish grin. "I want… human… blood… It smelled so… good…"

The older brother nearly coughed from Trucy's action. So he was… right.

Trucy had finally welcomed her everlasting doom just like he did. She was now part of his family, once again.

Apollo smiled along.

"Let's celebrate this reunion with a good meal…" Trucy delicately exclaimed when her eyes went straight into Apollo's sight. The brother could nearly see the emotion back reflecting onto her small blissful warm tears.

She was really… happy about her eternal fate.

"All right, give me a little time. I'll go get something!" Apollo ecstatically hollered to her as he quickly departed from their hideout.

The little sister watched when her brother dashed out until he disappeared from her view. Her grin widened at the thought of the upcoming meal she was going to be rewarded with when her Polly will come back. Whatever he'll bring, she'll be going to feast on it whenever she'll like it or not. Unable to stop her uncontrollable, predatory growls, she could finally feel the last of her lingering humanity burning away like a forgotten souvenir.

And how grateful she felt!

Nothing from her old life mattered anymore: her dreams to become a famed magician, her old family from her childhood, all of her friends at school and at the agency. Right now, the only thing that will satisfy her primal needs will be the liberating feeling of the blood entering her excited self. How the smell, the taste appeared overwhelming when she had watched her family while they scrumptiously devoured the humans!

Soon she'll get her first taste of blood, and that alone thrilled her to no end. Although she still couldn't move much at all, her whole body shuddered with impatience for what was to come.

From the other side of the hideout, Eros listened to everything. A satisfied smug appeared on his lips. He had succeeded to bring the family closer to him.

Now only one step remained to complete everything, but he'll wait for his son's return.

* * *

She didn't know how long she had waited for the big moment, but it appeared like more than an eternity. The wait had been endured for too long enough! She wanted that feast, now!

Soon enough, her brother came into her view. As expected, he was holding a beaten young human, bruised from all parts but definitely still alive for a superior flavor. When the smell of a juicy flesh tickled her now delicate nostrils, she could literally feel her tiny hairs rising all over her skin. Gratified that she will fill her hungry stomach for sure, her mouth watered as she gave away a content purr.

Apollo threw the man before Trucy on the ground. The human's landing was so hard that some wide splashes of blood went flying around its wounds. Some of the small drops even landed on Trucy's face, much to her delight as she used her tongue to get a small taste of her hors d'oeuvre before her real dinner.

The taste… It was so delectable… so exquisite…

The flavor, the smell and the sight of the wonderful fresh meal seemed to have given her a little boost of energy when she finally managed to crawl on her feet again, though a little clumsily. "You should get the first bite. You deserve it," Apollo casually told his sister with a smile.

Surprisingly, a weak protest was heard from the dying flesh. "N-No… please… l-let me go…"

To this, Apollo raised a puzzled eyebrow at him. "Huh, why?" the older brother questioned. "I mean, I saw you beat that girl in the park."

…

Amusingly, it appeared there was still an indistinct _justice_ in him, after all.

Still, Trucy wasn't listening to their silly conversation. A prey didn't need to speak or even live. Like a wild predator, she let out a petrifying hiss before her fangs reached the meal's neck, feeling every nerves of her long sharp teeth as they deeply sank into the flesh. She couldn't even hear the panicked scream the human was shrieking, because all that was filling her thoughts now was the perfect frenzy of her dinner. How appetizing the blood felt, how delicious it was!

It was... her cathartic heaven.

It didn't take long before all of her family, blood related or not, joined her in this bloodied feast, enjoying their meal as much as the newly reborn girl. Now that she had her first real taste of blood, she shall forever follow the laws of darkness that will dictate her choices and instincts.

When the oldest creature of the night among them had satisfied his thirst, with a small wipe from the remaining blood on his lips, Eros turned to Trucy with a sympathetic smile. "How do you like your changes?" the man asked, a joyful sparkle nearly reflecting on the glint of his eyes.

Pleased to no end with her thrilling rebirth, Trucy raised her head and gently turned her sight onto the man who had begun all this calamity on her family. She smiled with him while she scrumptiously licked the rest of the blood around her lips. "I'm… enjoying them, Eros…" she finally admitted with an overjoyed snarl.

Satisfied of her answer, Eros left a soft giggle escape his mouth. "You're my beloved son's little sister," he expressed with a visible melancholy. "You can call me Daddy, Trucy-dear."

To Eros's surprise, Trucy laughed along with a happier tone like she was already accepting him as a part of her casual family. "All right then, D-Daddy!"

There was a slight uncomfortable pause before Trucy called him by his fair title, but Eros will manage. Apollo and Clay both listened to them, and they all snickered along. While it took Apollo more than very long lasting nights before he started using this paternal title to call his own old man, Trucy was already using the term after a mere request from her brother's daddy himself.

Eros's last step was now complete. He had now assimilated a second child who will trust him like a precious father.

Indeed, they were a reunited family at last, for eternity.

The End

* * *

_**Author's note**__**:**__ Okay, okay, trust me, this is the last alternate ending. I was also going to write more of this, but naaan, I'll leave it to others' imagination, again. The further ending I had in mind would have had Clay, Apollo and Trucy eventually killed by hunters like thirty years later, but Eros got a better fate by being captured by an older Phoenix and given the meds. He'd meet Thalassa in a laboratory and they'll be together again, though vampires can't romantically (and sexually) love like humans. But they'll be a family again. Friendzoned forever, a man's worst nightmare, basically. Tragic._

_Or I dunno, maybe Clay, Apollo and Trucy will be fed up by Eros's insanity and they'll escape him, only to be subjected to Metis's meds eventually, or stuff. Could be anything too._

* * *

**Another Extra Ending**:

"…"

"… Hmm…"

No words were exchanged between the two siblings as they both tried to gather their rational thoughts together. Yet, they couldn't leave their piercing sights away from each other. The young man was showing prominent signs of discomfort and the young girl was hiding her obvious awkward smirk behind her palms.

Trying to save the moment for all of them, an older man proudly stood between the two, giving each a friendly pat on their back. He gently chuckled before he turned his attention on his protégé who was firmly holding a large amount of printed letter format papers in his hands.

"Did you… enjoy this alternate ending too, Apollo?" Phoenix scornfully laughed at the mortified young man.

No answer came from Apollo. Or rather, he attempted to reply, but no words came out from his open lips, visibly showing his gritting teeth from his reticence over this whole circumstance.

Why, oh why… did he read the entire… fictional story written by… his little sister?

"Hey, don't worry!" Athena happily exclaimed, grabbing Apollo's shoulders in a mocking manner. "He'll come back to his sense one day, will you, Apollo?"

"I-I-I hope so…" Trucy timidly murmured, fiddling with her gloved fingers together to release her stress and not daring to look into her brother's eyes anymore.

Suddenly, a very loud shout interrupted their shenanigan with these so-called, famous _Chords of Steel_ with a powerful pointing finger toward the three of them.

"**OBJECTION!**"

…

The End?

* * *

_**Author's last note**__: Yep, just to make up for that ultra depressing chapter._


End file.
